Qass 



Book ' ^ 



3 Cs^ 



/ 

A 



HAND-BOOK 



OF 



Mythology 



FOB, THE 



|[se of ^thak and |[ca(lfimij!s. 



BY 



S. A. EDWARDS, 

TEACHER OF MYTHOLOGY IN THE GIRLS' NORMAL SCHOOL, PHILADELPHIA. 




Philadelphia 

Eldredge & Brother, 

No. 17 North Seveath Street. 
1883. 



\ JUL 84 1883J 

No.././.4).t^x^_0y 



r 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1883, by 

ELDREDGE & BROTHER, 
In the OflBce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



FERGUSON BHOs!l A. CO., 
PRINTERS. , P^^fc'At/ELPHIA. 



rriHE importance of a knowledge of mythology is felt 
by all readers, even of our daily papers and maga- 
zines, and it is indispensable to the enjoyment of art and 
literature. It assists us to understand many allusions in 
the New Testament, and by revealing to us the cere- 
monies and maxims of Paganism, it inspires us with new 
respect for the majesty of the Christian religion. 

The early races expressed by their religious legends 
their opinions on the origin and destiny of man, their 
motives for the performance of what they considered 
duty, and their ground of hope for the hereafter. 

It has been fully proved that mythology is simply a 
phase in the growth of language, the study of which 
has explained many things in mythology which hitherto 
appeared contradictory. 

Cox says, "The task of analyzing and comparing 
the myths of the Aryan nations has opened to me a 
source of unqualified delight. I feel bound to avow the 
conviction that it has done more. It has removed not 

iii 



iv 



PREFACE. 



a few perplexities, and has solved not a few difficulties 
which press hard on many thinkers. It has raised and 
strengthened my faith in the goodness of God, and has 
justified the wisdom which has chosen to educate man- 
kind through impressions produced by the phenomena 
of the outside world." 

In this little work advantage has been taken of modern 
research, and Miiller, Cox, Berens, Brinton, Seemann, 
Keightley, Bulfinch, and others have been consulted, 
and when quoted, proper credit has been given. 

Accents have been marked, so that pupils will have 
no difficulty in pronouncing names. 




List of Subjects. 



PAGE 

Introduction 9 

Cosmogony and Theogony 18 

The Titans and their Offspring . . . .19 

Uranus (The Heavens) 20 

Nyx (The Night) .22 

Helios (The Sun) . 23 

Eos (The Dawn) 26 

Selene (The Moon) 27 

Hecate 29 

Chronos (Time) . 31 

Ehea (Ops) 34 

■{y Zeus (Jupiter) . 36 

Hera (Juno) 46 

Poseidon (Neptune) 49 

Aides, or Pluto . . . . . . . .53 

McERjE (The Fates) 59 

Erinnys (The Furies) 60 

Demeter (Ceres) . .63 

Persephone (Proserpine) 68 

1^ V 



vi LIST OF SUBJECTS. 

PAGE 

Ares (Maks) 69 

j/ PAiiLAs- Athene (Minerva) 72 

Hestia (Vesta) 76 

Heph^stus (Vulcan) . . . . . . .78 

Aphrodite (Venus) 81 

HoRiE (The Seasons) . . ... . .83 

Charites (The Graces) 84 

Eros (Cupid) 85 

Hymen^us, or Hymen 88 

Phcebus (Apollo) 88 

Artemis (Diana) 95 

Hermes (Mercury) 98 

Dionysus (Bacchus) 102 

Mus^ (The Muses) . . . 106 

,/ The Sirens .... . 109 

Pegasus 109 

The Nymphs 110 

Iris (The Kainbow) 112 

Hebe (Juventas) ........ 113 

Nike (Victoria) 114 

Ganymedes 114 

Momus 115 

Nemesis 115 

Tyche . . . . • 116 

Janus 116 

Flora 117 

Pomona . . • 118 

Vertumnus .118 

Terminus 118 

SiLVANUS 118 

Pales 119 

IK 



LIST OF SUBJECTS. vii 

PAGE 

Manes . . . . . . ... .119 

Penates . . . . . . . . . . 119 

Nereus 120 

Proteus 120 

Glaucus . .120 

Thaumas, Phokcys, and Ceto 121 

The Winds 121 

Pan 122 

SiLENUS 124 

The Satyrs 125 

Priapus 125 

Public Worship of the Ancient Greeks and 

EOMANS 126 

The Creation and Primitive Condition of Mankind 132 

Ages of the World . 134 

Deucalion and Pyrrha . . . . . .135 

Centaurs and Lapith^ 136 

The Theban Legends 137 

The Theban Wars . 142 

Perseus . . . . 145 

Bellerophon 149 

(heracles . , . . 151 

^HESEUS 163 

Calydonian Hunt 168 

Atalanta 169 

d^dalus and icarus . 169 

NThe Argonautic Expedition 171 

.The Trojan War 177 

The Eeturn of the Greeks from Troy . . .189 

^neas 202 

Personifications 207 



viii LIST OF SUBJECTS. 



PAGE 

Offices of the Deities 208 

Gbeek Festivals . . 209 

KoMAN Festivals 210 

Egyptian Mythology 211 

Assyrian Mythology 217 

Persian Mythology 218 

Hindu Mythology 220 

Scandinavian Mythology 225 

The Druids' Mythology 230 

American Mythology 234 



A 

HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 

Introduction. 

" Mythology is a collection of tales, or legends, relating 
to the gods, heroes, demons, or other beings whose names 
have been preserved in popular belief. 

" The gods, in almost every instance, were personifica- 
tions of phenomena, or powers of Nature. 

" Many ages ago, before any of the nations existed that 
now inhabit Europe, and while everything was new and 
strange to the people who then lived on the earth, men 
talked of the things which they saw and heard in a man- 
ner very different from our way of speaking now. We 
talk of the sun rising and setting as of something which is 
sure to h-appen ; but they did not know enough to feel sure 
about these things, and so when the evening came they 
said, *Our friend, the sun, is dead; will he come back 
again ? ' and when they saw him once more in the east, 
they rejoiced because he brought back their light and their 
life with him. Knowing but little about themselves and 
of the things which they saw in the world around them, 
they fancied that everything had the same kind of life 
which they had themselves. In this way they came to 
think that the sun and stars, the rivers and streams, could 

9 



10 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



see, and feel, and think, and that they shone, or moved, of 
their own accord. Thus they spoke of everything as if it 
were alive, and instead of saying, as we do, that the morn- 
ing comes before the sunrise, and that the evening twilight 
follows the sunset, they spoke of the sun as the lover of 
the dawn, or morning, who went before him, as longing to 
overtake her, and as killing her with his bright rays which 
shone like spears. 

" We talk of the clouds which scud along the sky, but 
they spoke of the cows of the sun, which the children of 
the morning drove every day to their pastures in the blue 
fields of heaven. So, too, when the sun set, they said that 
the dawn with its soft and tender light had come to soothe 
her son, or her husband, in his dying hour. 

" In the same way, the sun was the child of darkness, and 
in the morning he wove for his bride in the heavens a 
fairy net-work of clouds, which re-appeared when she 
came back to him in the evening. 

" When the sun shone with a pleasant warmth, they 
spoke of him as the friend of men; when his scorching 
heat brought a drought, they said that the sun was slaying 
his children, or that some one else, who knew not how to 
guide them, was driving the horses of his chariot through 
the sky. As they looked on the dark clouds which rested 
on the earth without giving any rain, they said that the 
terrible being whom they named the snake or dragon was 
shutting up the waters in a prison-house. When the thun- 
der rolled, they said that this hateful monster was uttering 
his hard riddles; and when, at last, the rain burst forth, 
they said that the bright sun had slain his enemy, and 
brought a stream of life for the thirsting earth. 

" Now, so long as men remained in the same place, there 
was no fear that the words which they spoke would be 
misunderstood; but as time went on they scattered, and 
it came to pass that they kept the names which they had 
given to the sun, the clouds, and all other things when 
their original meaning had been quite forgotten. Thus, 



INTRODUCTION, 



11 



mythology, as we call it now, is simply a collection of the 
sayings by which men once described whatever they saw 
and heard in the countries where they lived. This key 
which has unlocked almost all the secrets of mythology 
was given us by Professor Max Miiller, who has done more 
than all other writers to bring out the exquisite and touch- 
ing poetry that underlies these ancient legends.'' — Cox. 

" Language has been called * a map of the science and 
manners of the people who speak it.' Philology, or the 
study of language, has assisted students of mythology in 
two ways ; first, by tracing the names of objects of worship 
to their root-forms, and thus showing their meaning and 
revealing the thought that lay at the root of the worship. 
Secondly, by proving the identity between gods of differ- 
ent nations whose names, apparently different, have been 
resolved into the same root-word, or to a root of the same 
meaning. 

Philology has enabled us to read the primitive thoughts 
of mankind. A large number of the names of Greek gods 
and heroes have no meaning in the Greek language, but 
their names occur in Sanskrit with plain, physical mean- 
ings." — Fiske. 

"When the Hindu talked of * Father Dyaus,' or the 
' sleek kine of Siva,' he thought of the personified sky and 
clouds. But the Greek, in whose language these physical 
meanings were lost, had long before the Homeric epoch 
come to regard Zeus, Her^mes, Athene^, etc., as mere per- 
sons ; and in most cases the originals of the Hindu myths 
were completely forgotten. 

" One chief result arrived at by the comparison of creeds, 
and by unraveling the meaning of the names of ancient 
gods and heroes, is the discovery that a worship of differ- 
ent aspects and forces of nature lies at the foundation of all 
mythologies, and that the cause of the resemblance be- 
tween the stories told of the gods and heroes is that they 
are in reality only slightly different ways <^f describing 



12 HA^D'BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



natural appearances according to the effect produced on 
different minds. 

"The essence of all Paganism is a recognition of the 
forces of Nature as godlike, stupendous, personal Agencies, 
as gods and demons. 

" The close resemblance which runs through the legends 
of different lands leads us to the conclusion that all these 
legends have a common source, namely, the words or 
phrases used by the most ancient tribes in speaking of the 
things which they saw, heard, or felt in the world around 
them." — Cox, 

" The study of mythology is a benefit because, by reveal- 
ing to us the absurd ceremonies and impious maxims of Pa- 
ganism, it may inspire us with new respect for the majesty 
of the Christian religion, and for the sanctity of its morals. 

"It also enables us to understand the works of various 
authors as well as paintings, coins, statues, etc. 

" The great mass of the Grecian people appear to have 
believed that their divinities were real persons, but their 
philosophers explained the legends concerning them as 
allegorical representations of general physical and moral 
truths. The Greeks worshiped the powers of Nature per- 
sonified. 

" Every heathen conception of deity in which we are 
likely to be interested has three distinct characters :— 

It has a physical character. It repr-esents some of the 
great powers, or objects of Nature,— the sun, the moon, the 
heavens, the winds, or the sea. The fables first related 
about each deity represent, figuratively, the action of the 
natural power which it represents ; such as the rising and 
setting of the sun, the tides of the sea, and so on. 

"JJ. It has an ethical character^ and represents in its his- 
tory the moral dealings of God with man. Thus, Apollo is, 
first, physically the sun contending with darkness, but, 
morally, the power of divine life contending with corrup- 
tion. Athene is physically the light of daybreak, morally 
the breathing of the divine spirit of wisdom. Posei^don is 



INTRODUCTION. 



13 



physically the sea; morally, the supreme power of pas- 
sion. 

"J/J. It has a personal character^ and is realized in the 
minds of its worshipers as a living spirit with whom men 
may speak face to face as a man speaks with his friend."— 
Buskin. 

The Greek poets believed the earth to be flat and circu- 
lar, their own country occupying the middle of it, the cen- 
tral point being either Mt. Olympus, the abode of the 
gods, or Delphi, so famous for its oracle. 

The circular disk of the earth was crossed from west to 
east, and divided into two equal parts by the Sea^ as they 
called the Mediterranean, and its continuation the Euxine. 

Around the earth flowed the River Oceans its course being 
from south to north on the western side of the earth, and 
in a contrary direction on the eastern side. It flowed in a 
steady, equable current, unvexed by storm or tempest. 
The sea, and all the rivers on earth, received their waters 
from it. 

The northern portion of the earth was supposed to be in- 
habited by a happy race named the Hyperbo'reans, dwell- 
ing in everlasting bliss and spring beyond the lofty moun- 
tains, whose caverns were supposed to send forth the 
piercing blasts of the north wind, which chilled the people 
of Hellas, Greece. 

Their country was inaccessible by land or sea. They 
lived exempt from disease or old age, from toils and war- 
fare. Moore has given us the " Song of the Hyperborean," 
beginning, — 

** I come from a land in the sun-bright deep, 
Where golden gardens glow; 
Where the winds of the north, becalmed in sleep, 
Their conch-shells never blow." 

On the south side of the earth, close to the stream of 
Ocean, dwelt a people happy and virtuous as the Hyper- 
2 



14 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 

boreans. They were named the . Ethiopians. The gods 
favored them so highly, that they were wont to leave at 
times their Olympian abodes, and go to share their sacri- 
fices and banquets. 

On the western margin of the earth, by the stream of 
Ocean, lay a happy placejiamed the Elysian Plain, whither 
mortals favored by the ^od^^ were transported, without 
suflering death, to enjoy an immortality of bliss. This 
happy region was also called the Fortunate Fields," and 
the ''Isles of the Blessed.'* 




MAP OF THE WOE LD ACCORDING TO THE ANCIENT GREEKS. 



We thus see that the Greeks of the early ages knew 
little of any people except those to the east and south of 
their own country, or near the coast of the Mediterranean. 
Their imagination peopled the western portion of this sea 
with giants, monsters, and enchantresses ; while they placed 



INTRODUCTION. 



15 



around the disk of the earth nations enjoying the peculiar 
favor of the gods, and blessed with happiness and longevity. 

The Dawn, the Sun, and the Moon were supposed to rise 
out of the Ocean, and to drive through the air, giving light 
to gods and men. The stars also, except those forming 
Charles's Wain, or Bear, rose out of and sunk into the stream 
of Ocean. There the sun-god embarked in a winged boat, 
which conveyed him round by the northern part of the 
earth, back to his place of rising in the east. Milton alludes 
to this in his Comus.'^ 

Now the gilded car of day 
His golden axle doth allay 
In the steep Atlantic stream, 
And the slope Sun his upward beam 
Shoots against the dusky pole, 
Pacing towards the other goal 
Of his chamber in the east." 

" The ancient Greeks believed their gods to be of the same 
shape and form as themselves, but of far greater beauty, 
strength, and dignity. They also regarded them as being 
of much larger size than men, for in those times great size 
was esteemed a perfection both in man and woman, and 
consequently was supposed to be an attribute of their di- 
vinities, to whom they ascribed all perfections. A fluid 
named Ichor supplied the place of blood in the veins of the 
gods. They were not capable of death, but they might be 
wounded or otherwise injured. They could make them- 
selves visible or invisible to men as they pleased, and 
assume the forms of men or of animals as it suited their 
fancy. Like men, they stood in daily need of food and 
sleep. The food of the gods was called Ambrosia, their 
drink Nectar. The gods when they came among men often 
partook of their food and hospitality. 

" Like mankind, the gods were divided into two sexes, — 
namely, gods and goddesses. They married and had chil- 
dren, just as mortals do. To make the resemblance be- 



16 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



tween gods and men more complete, the Greeks ascribed 
to their deities all human passions, both good and evil. 
The}^ were capable of love, friendship, gratitude ; of envy, 
jealousy, and revenge. 

The abode of the gods, as described by the more ancient 
Grecian poets, such as Hd^mer and He^siod, was on the 
summit of the snow-clad mountains of Olympus, in Thes- 
saly. A gate of clouds, kept by the goddesses named Ho^'rse 
(the seasons), unfolded its valves to permit the passage of the 
Celestials to the earth, and to receive them on their return. 
The gods had their separate dwellings ; but all, when sum- 
moned, repaired to the palace of Zeus, as did also those 
deities whose usual abode was the earth, the waters, or 
the under-world. It was also in the great hall of the pal- 
ace of the Olympian king that the gods feasted each day 
on ambrosia and nectar, the latter being handed around by 
the lovely goddess He^be. Here they conversed of the af- 
fairs of heaven and earth ; and, as they quaffed their nec- 
tar, Apollo, the god of music, delighted them with the 
tones of his lyre, to which the Muses sung in responsive 
strains. 

" The following lines from the Odyssey will show how 
Homer conceived of Olympus : — 

' So saying, Minerva, goddess azure-eyed, 
Rose to Olympus, the reputed seat 
Eternal of the gods, which never storms 
Disturb, rains drench, or snow invades, but calm 
The expanse and cloudless shines with purest day; 
There the inhabitants divine rejoice 
Forever.' — Cowper. 

"Such were the abodes of the gods as the Greeks con- 
ceived them. The Romans, before they knew the Greek 
poetry, seem to have had no definite imagination of such 
an assembly of gods. But the Roman and Etruscan races 
were by no means irreligious. They venerated their de- 
parted ancestors, and in each family the worship of these 



THE TITANS AND THEIR OFFSPRING. 19 



The Cyclopes were three in number, Bron^tes (thun- 
der), Ster'opes (forked-Ughtning), Ar^ges (sheet-light- 
ning) : these we can clearly see refer to the phenomena 
of the storm. 

The Hecatoncheires (Centim^ani, or Hundred- 
handed) were Bria^reus (hurricane), G-y^ges (earth- 
quake), and Cot^tus (volcano). 

The Race of Pon^tus.— By Pontus, Gsea became 
the mother of the fabulous sea-deities— Ke^reus, Thau^- 
mas, Phor^cys, Ce^to, and Eiiryb^ia. Nereus represents 
the sea in its quiet state. Thaumas represents the 
majesty of the sea. He is the father of I^ris (the rain- 
bow) and of the Harpies (storm-winds). Phorcys and 
Ceto, from whose union the frightful Gor^gons and Grse^se 
proceeded, typify the dangers and terrors of the sea. 

— -oo^e^oo 

The Titans and Their Offspring. 

Oce^anus and Te^thys.— By making Oceanus the 
offspring of Uranus and Gsea, the ancients merely assert 
that the ocean is produced by the combined influence of 
heaven and earth ; while, at the same time, their fervid 
and poetical imaginations led them to see in this, as in 
all manifestations of the powers of nature, an actual, 
tangible divinity. 

Oceanus espoused his sister Tethys. Their offspring 
were the rivers of the earth, and three thousand daugh- 
ters named Ocean^ides, or Ocean-nymphs. 

The abode of Oceanus was a grotto-palace beneath the 
stream of Ocean. It is not always easy to distinguish 
the god from the stream over which he rules. 

OcB^us and Phoe^be.— The offspring of this pair were 
Le^to and Aste^ria. Leto was the mother of ApoFlo 
and Ar^temis. 



20 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



Crrus.— This Titan is said to be the sire of Astrae^us, 
Pallas, and Perses. Astrseus was the father of the 
Winds and Stars. Pallas and Styx (the ocean-nymph) 
were the parents of Envy, Victory, Strength, and Force. 
Perses married Asteria. Hec^ate was their daughter. 

HyperFon and Thea were the parents of Helios (the 
Sun), Sele^ne (the Moon), and E^os (the Dawn). 

The most important of all the Titans, however, are 
Chronos and Ehea, who pave the way for the universal 
dominion of their son Zeus. 




man, Coe'lum ; Hindu, Varu'na. 



G^A, THE EARTH. 



21 



The sun, moon, and stars were emblems of Uranus or 
Coelum. He is represented clothed with a starred man- 
tle, his hands uplifted, pointing to the moon and stars. 

Uranus was believed to have united himself in mar- 
riage with Gsea, the earth; and reflection will show 
what a truly poetical, and also what a logical idea this 
was; for, taken in a figurative sense, this union actually 
does exist. The smiles of heaven produce the flowers 
of earth ; whereas his long-continued frowns exercise so 
depressing an influence upon his loving partner, that she 
no longer decks herself in bright and festive robes, but 
responds with ready sympathy to his melancholy mood. 

Gsea, as earth-goddess, was a personification of pro- 
ductive earth, whether through fertile soil or through 
moisture. 

Comparative Mythology. — Greek, Gse'a; Roman, 
Tellus or Terra ; Hindu, Prithivi ; Samothra'ce, Great 
Goddess. She was also called Tita'nia. 

Uranus, fearing that his turbulent offspring, the Heca- 
toncheires and Cyclopes, might one day seize his power, 
buried them in Tartarus directly after their birth. This 
displeased Gsea, their mother, who thereupon prompted 
the Titans to conspire against their father, and induced 
Chronos, the youngest and bravest of them, to lay vio- 
lent hands on Uranus. 

Uranus was mutilated, and from the drops of blood 
which fell upon the earth sprung Gigan^tes (Giants) and 
Me^liee (Melian Kymphs). From what fell into the sea 
sprung Aphrodi^te (Yenus). 

Uranus cursed Chronos, and prophesied that he would 
suffer a similar fate at the hands of his own son. 



22 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 




NYX (The Night). 



Kyx was the daughter of Chaos, and sister of Erebus, 
to whom she bore Hemera and ^ther. She is said then 
to have produced without a sire Moe^rae (Par^cae, or 
Fates), Than^atos (Death), Hyp'nos (Sleep), Onei^ros 
( Dreams), Momus (Laughter), Cocy'tos (Woe), Nem^esis 
(Vengeance), E^ris (Strife), the Hesper^ides, and several 
other deities. 

It is a principle of all cosmogony that darkness pre- 
ceded light, which sprung from it ; a truth here expressed 
by making Kight the parent of Day and ^ther. 

^Tyx, with her two sons, Tlianatos and Hypnos, dwelt 
in a cave which Hesiod places in the west, ''behind 
where Atlas supports the heavens." Hemera shared 
this abode, and she and Kyx rode forth alternately to 
minister to the world. 

Representations. 

1. A female form, with or without wings, clothed in black 
drapery, and having a starry veil, riding in a chariot drawn by 
black steeds, and accompanied by the stars. 



HELIOS, THE STJN. 



23 



2. With starry veil floating in the air, coming towards the 
earth as if to extinguish a flaming torch which she carries in 
her hand. 

3. A floating figure, clothed in a long, black robe, carrying m 
her arms Thanatos and Hypnos. Death is draped in black, and 
holds an inverted torch ; while Sleep is robed in white, and has 
for his symbol the poppy. 

4. Sitting beneath a tree, distributing poppies to Mor^pheus 
and his brothers. Morpheus, the god of dreams, receives the 
poppies, while his brothers bend to gather the falling leaves. 

Sacrifices offered to Nyx were black sheep. A cock was offered 
to her. because that bird announces the coming of Hemera even 
in the presence of Nyx. 



HE^LIOS (The Sun). 

Comparative Mythology. — Greek, He'lios ; Roman, 
Sol ; Persian, Mi'thras or Mi'thra ; Chaldean, Ba'al or 
Bel ; Canaanite, Moloch ; Egyptian, Ra, Osi'ris, Ho'rus, 
Pthah. 

The office of Helios was to give light to men and 
gods during the day. He is described as rising every 
morning in the east, preceded by his sister Eos, who, 
with her rosy fingers, paints the tips of the mountains, 
and draws aside the misty veil through which her brother 
is about to appear. "When he has burst forth in all the 
glorious light of day, Eos disappears, and Helios drives 
his flame-darting chariot along the accustomed track. 
This chariot, which is of burnished gold, is drawn by 
four fire-breathing steeds, behind which the young god 
stands erect with flashing eyes, his head surrounded with 
rays, holding in one hand the reins of those fiery coursers 
which in all hands save his are unmanageable. When 
towards evening he descends the curve in order to cool 
his burning forehead in the waters of the sea, he is fol- 



24 



EAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



lowed closely by his sister Selene, who is now prepared 
to take charge of the world and illumine the dusky 
night. 

Homer and Hesiod give no explanation of the manner 
in which Helios reaches the east in the morning after 
having disappeared in the west. In later times poets 
invented the fiction that when Helios had finished his 
daily course, a winged boat, or cup, which had been made 
for him by Hephaes^tus (Yulcan), conveyed him, with 
his glorious equipage, to the east, where he recommenced 
his bright career. 

Helios, as the god whose eye surveys all things, was 
invoked as a witness to solemn oaths. 

Sun-worship was one of the first and most natural 
forms of idolatry. The island of Ehodes was sacred to 
Helios. Here was erected his celebrated colossal statue. 
He was represented on coins of the Ehodians by the head 
of a young man crowned with rays. 

Sacrifices offered to Helios were honey, lambs, goats, 
white rams, and white horses. 

From the Egyptian name Horus those parts into which 
the sun divides the day are called horse or hours. 

Helios and the ocean-nymph Clym^ene had a son named 
Pha^ethon. The claims of this youth to a celestial origin 
being disputed by Ep^aphus, son of Zeus and Fo, he 
journeyed to the palace of his sire, from whom he ex- 
tracted an unwary oath that he would grant him what- 
ever he asked. The ambitious youth instantly demanded 
permission to guide the solar chariot for one day, to prove 
himself thereby the undoubted progeny of the Sun-god. 
Helios, aware of the consequences, remonstrated, but to 
no purpose. The youth persisted, and the god, bound 
by his oath, reluctantly committed the reins to his hands, 
warning him of the dangers of the road, and instructing 
him how to avoid them. 

Phaethon grasped the reins, the flame-breathing steeds 



HELIOS, THE SUK 



25 



sprung forward, but, soon aware of the feeble hand that 
guided them, they ran out of their course, the world was 
set on fire, and a total conflagration would have ensued, 
had not Zeus, at the prayer of Earth, launched his 
thunder, and hurled the terrified driver from his seat. 
He fell into the river Erid^anus (Po). His sisters, the 
Heli^ades, as they lamented his fate, were turned into 
poplar-trees on its banks, and their tears, which still con- 
tinued to flow, became amber as they dropped into the 
stream. Cyc^nus, the friend of the ill-fated Phaethon, 
also abandoned himself to mourning, and at length was 
changed into a swan. 

" One who cannot guide the fiery horses sits in the 
chariot of the sun." So ran the phrase which, scarcely 
disguised in the myth of Phaethon, rose naturally to 
the lips of men when all herbage was scorched and with- 
ered in times of drought. 

Clyf^ie was a water-nymph, and in love with the Sun- 
god, who made her no return. She pined away, nine 
days she sat on the ground and tasted neither food nor 
drink. She gazed on the sun when he rose, and as he 
passed through his daily course to his setting ; she saw 
no other object, her face turned constantly on him. At 
last, it is said, her limbs rooted in the ground, her face 
became a sun-flower, which turns on its stem so as always 
to face the sun throughout its daily course. 

The sun-flower is a favorite emblem of constancy. 
Moore uses it : 

" The heart that has truly loved never forgets, 
But as truly loves on to the close ; 
As the sun-flower turns on her god when he sets 
The same look that she turned when he rose." 

Epithets applied to Helios by the poets were, mortal-delight- 
ing ; mortal-illumining ; unwearied. 



26 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 




E^OS (The Dawn). 

Comparative Mythology.— GVeeA, E'os; Romany 
Auro'ra; Hindu, Sarun'ya. 

Eos, the goddess of the dawn, was daughter of Hype- 
rion and Thea, and a sister of Helios and Selene. She 
was first married to Astraeus, by whom she became the 
mother of the winds — Bo^reas (north), Zeph^yrus (west), 
Eu^rus (east), and Kotus (south). This is a mythological 
way of intimating the fact that the wind generally rises 
at dawn. She was also mother of Eos^phorus (dawn- 
bearer) and of the Stars of Heaven. She afterwards be- 
came united to Titho^nus, son of Laom^edon, king of 
Troy. Eos obtained for him from Zeus the gift of im- 
mortality, forgetting, however, to add to it that of eternal 
youth. When Tithonus grew old, and lost the beauty 
which had won her admiration, Eos became disgusted 
with his infirmities, and at last shut him up in a chamber, 
where soon little else was left of him but his voice. Eos, 



SELENE, THE MOON. 



27 



pitying his unhappy condition, exerted her divine power, 
and changed him into a grasshopper. 

Memnon, king of Ethiopia, celebrated in the story of 
the Trojan war, was a son of Eos and Tithonus. He 
came to the assistance of Troy, and was slain by AchiF- 
les. Since then Eos has wept without ceasing for her 
darling son, and her tears fall to the earth as dew. 

Eos had her own chariot, which she drove across the 
vast horizon both morning and night, before and after 
the sun-god. Hence she is a personification not merely 
of the rosy morn, but also of twilight. She is described 
b}'^ the poets as a beautiful maiden with rosy arms and 
fingers ; she bears a star on her forehead and a torch in 
her hand. "Wrapping around her the rich folds of her 
violet-tinged mantle, she leaves her couch before the 
break of day and yokes her two horses, Lampe^tus and 
Phaethon, to her glorious chariot. She then hastens 
with cheerfulness to open the gates of heaven, in order 
to herald the approach of her brother, whilst the tender 
plants and flowers, reviving by the morning dew, lift up 
their heads to welcome her as she passes. 

The Greeks explained the death of u youth by saying 
that Eos loved him, and had carried him into immortal life. 

The views and fables connected with Eos were trans- 
ferred by the Roman writers to the person of their god- 
dess Aurora without alteration. 

Epithets given to Eos, or Aurora, were rose-fingered, rose- 
armed, yellow -robed, gold-seated, well-seated, well-tressed, snow- 
footed, fair-lighting, mortal-illumining, much-seeing, air-born. 

SELE^NE (The Moon). 

Comparative Mythology.— GVeeA;, Sele'ne ; Roman, 
Lii'na. 



28 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



Selene, daughter of Hyperion and Thea, represented 
the moon. The name signifies wanderer among the stars. 
She was supposed to drive her chariot across the sky 
whilst her brother Helios was reposing after the toils 
of the day. When the shades of evening began to enfold 
the earth, the two milk-white steeds of Selene rose out 
of the mysterious depths of Oceanus. Seated in a sil- 
very chariot, and accompanied b}^ her daughter Her^sa, 
the goddess of the dew, appeared the mild and gentle 
queen of the night, with a crescent on her fair brow, a 
gauzy veil flowing behind, and a hghted torch in her 
hand. 

It was supposed that magicians and enchanters, par- 
ticularly those of Thessaly, had an uncontrollable power 
over the moon, and that they could draw her down from 
heaven at pleasure by the mere force of their incanta- 
tions. Her eclipses, according to their opinion, proceeded 
thence, and, on that account, it was customary to beat 
drums and cymbals to render the power of magic less 
effectual. 

It was said that Selene was enamored of End/m^ion, 
on whom Zeus had bestowed the gift of perpetual youth, 
but united with perpetual sleep, and that she descended 
to gaze on him every night on the summit of Mount 
Lat^mos, the place of his repose. 

The name Endymion denotes the sudden plunge of the 
sun into the sea. Endymion represents the tired sun 
hurrying to his rest, and dead to the love which is lav- 
ished upon him. ?The original meaning of Endymion 
being once forgotten, what was told originally of the set- 
ting sun was now told of a name which, in order to have 
any meaning, had to be changed into ^ god or a hero. 
The setting sun once slept in the Latmian cave, the cave 
of night — ''Latmos " being derived from the same root 
as "Leto," " Latona," the night ; but now he sleeps on 
Mount Latmos, in Ca^ria. Endymion, sinking into sleep, 



HECATE. 



29 



was once the setting sun. In the ancient poetical lan- 
guage of Greece, people said " Selene loves and watches 
Endymion," instead of "it is getting late;" "Selene 
embraces Endymion," instead of " the sun is setting and 
the moon is rising;" "Selene kisses Endymion into 
sleep," instead of "it is night." 

Representations. 

1. On coins by the bust of a fair young woman with a crescenL 
on her head. 

2. Clothed in a long robe, and a veil which covers the back 
of the head. Sometimes on her brow a crescent ; at others, horns. 

3. Scenes illustrating the story of Endymion. 




HEC^ATE. 

Hecate was originally a moon-goddess worshiped by 
the Thra^cians. She was the daughter of Pereses and 
3* 



30 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



Asteria, and her sway extended over earth, heaven, and 
the lower regions, for which reason she was invoked as 
the triple goddess*" Hecate represented the moon in 
her invisible phases, and it was thought that when she 
was absent from the earth she was in the lower world. 

As operating in the heavens, Hecate is identified with 
Selene ; in her influence on the earth, with Ar'temis (Dia^- 
na), and as having power in the lower world, with Per- 
seph^one (Pros^erpine). She was believed to wander by 
night over the earth, seen only by the dogs, whose bark- 
ing announced her approach. 

Her statues, which were dog-headed, were set up at ' 
Athens and elsewhere, in the market-places and at cross- 
roads. She was believed to preside over witchcraft and 
enchantment, and to haunt sepulchres, the point where 
two roads cross, and lonely spots where murders had 
been committed. She was supposed to be connected with 
the appearance of ghosts and spectres, to possess unlim- 
ited influence over the powers of the lower world, and to 
be able to lay to rest unearthly apparitions by her magic 
spells and incantations. 

Hecate's favor was propitiated by ofierings of black 
female lambs, dogs, eggs, hbations of milk, and honey. 
Festivals were held at night, by torchUght. 

At the time of the new moon, the wealthy sent suppers 
to be placed before her statues, which the poor would 
then come and eat. This was called the "Supper of 
Hecate," and the ofiering was made that she might pre- 
vent the souls of the dead from appearing. 

Artemis represents the moonlight splendor of night ; 
Hecate, its darkness and terrors. 

Representations. 

1. As a woman having the head of a woman, or of a dog, or 
of a horse. 

2. As a woman having two faces. 



CHRONOS. 



31 



3. As a woman having three bodies, partly distinct and partly- 
united, having three distinct faces united at the neck ; such a 
figure was called " Triformis." 




CHRO^NOS (Time). 



Comparative Mythology. — Greek, Chro'nos; Ro- 
man, Sat'urn ; Hindu, Dyu ; Phoenician, Moloch ; Egyp- 
tian, Seb. 

Chronos was the god of time. He married E-hea, a 
daughter of Uranus and Gaea. Their children were 
three sons : Abides or Pluto, Poseidon (^^eptune), Zeus 
(Jupiter), and three daughters : Hestia (Yesta), Deme^- 
ter (Ceres), and Hera (Juno). 

Chronos, having an uneasy conscience, was afraid that 
his children might one day rise up against his authority, 
and thus verify the prediction of his father, Uranus. In 
order, therefore, to render the prophecy impossible of 
fulfilment, Chronos swallowed each child as soon as it 



32 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



was born, greatly to the sorrow and indignation of his 
wife Khea. When Zeus was born, she, by the advice of 
Uranus and G-^a, wrapped a stone in swaddling-clothes, 
and Chronos, in eager haste, swallowed it, without no- 
ticing the deception. Zeus was reared by the Kymphs 
in a cavern of Crete. Under their watchful care he 
throve rapidly, developing great physical powers, com- 
bined with extraordinary wisdom and intelligence. 
Grown to manhood, he determined to compel his father 
to restore his brothers and sisters to the light of day. 
He espoused Mentis (Prudence), who artfully persuaded 
Chronos to drink a potion, which caused him to give back 
the children he had swallowed. The stone which had 
counterfeited Zeus was placed at Delphi, where it was 
long exhibited as a sacred relic. 

Chronos was so enraged at being circumvented that 
war between the father and son became inevitable. 
Zeus, with his brothers and sisters, took his stand on 
Mount Olympus, where he was joined by Oceanus, 
Themis, Mnemosyne, and Hyperion, who had forsaken 
Chronos on account of his oppressions. Chronos and his 
brother Titans took possession of Mount O^thrys, and 
prepared for battle. The struggle was fierce and lasted 
ten years. Zeus called to his aid the Cyclopes and Heca- 
toncheires. The former brought tremendous thunder- 
bolts, which the latter, with their hundred hands, hurled 
down upon the enemy, at the same time raising mighty 
earthquakes. Victory smiled upon Zeus. Chronos and 
his army were completely overthrown, his brothers de- 
spatched to the gloomy depths of the lower world, and 
Chronos himself was banished from his kingdom and de- 
prived forever of the supreme power, which now became 
vested in his son Zeus. This war was called the Titano- 
ma^chia. The whole myth of the overthrow of Chronos 
and the triumph of Zeus covers long transition periods 
of earth's history. 



CHRONOS, 



33 



AVith the defeat of Chronos and his banishment from 
his dominions, his career as a ruling Greek divinity en- 
tirely ceases. But being, like all the gods, immortal, he 
was supposed to be still in existence, though possessing 
no longer either influence or authority. 

The Romans, according to their custom of identifying 
their deities with those of the Greek gods whose attri- 
butes were similar to their own, declared Chronos to be 
identical with Saturn. They believed that after his 
defeat in the Titanomachia, and his banishment from 
his dominions by Zeus, Chronos took refuge with Janus, 
king of Italy, who received the exiled deity with great 
kindness, and even shared his throne with him. Their 
united reign became so thoroughly peaceful and happy, 
and was distinguished by such uninterrupted prosperity, 
that it was called the " Golden Age." 

A temple in honor of Saturn was erected at the foot 
of the Capitoline Hill, in which were deposited the pub- 
lic treasury and the laws of the State. 

Greek festivals in honor of Chronos were called Chro'- 
nia. 

The Roman festival in his honor was called ''Satur- 
nalia," of which the Carnival is a survival. The Satur- 
nalia was devoted to freedom, mirth, and indiscriminate 
hospitality. 

Representations. 

1. On monuments, bound with cords of wool. There was a 
legend that Chronos was thus bound by Zeus to prevent irregu- 
larity in the movements of the heavenly bodies. 

2. With wings (swiftness), feet of wool (noiseless), leaning on 
a scythe. 

3. With an hour-glass and scythe. 

4. Receiving a stone from Rhea. 

5. Bust with serene countenance, full beard, back of head 
veiled. 

C 



34 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



Significations. 

Chronos chained by Zeus signified the revolution of the sea- 
sons chained to the course of the stars to prevent too immoderate 
speed. 

A sickle as emblem of Chronos meant god of harvests, or de- 
caying life, or rebellion against Uranus. 
A serpent meant renewed life of the year, 
A serpent with its tail in its mouth meant the year. 
A scythe meant the god of death. 

A globe encircled by a starry zodiac meant the ordainer of 
systematic celestial movements. 




RHE^A. 

Comparative Mythology. — Greeh, Rhea; RomaUy 
Ops ; Phrygian^ Cy'b'ele. 

Rh a, the wife of Chronos and mother of Zeus and 
the I 'her great gods of Olympus, like Giea, personified 
the earth, and was regarded as the Great Mother, and 
unceasing producer of all plant-life. She was also be- 
lieved to exercise unbounded sway over the animal crea- 
tion, more especially over the lion. 

The priests of Ehea were called Curettes and Cory- 



RHEA. 



85 



Mn^tes. Her worship was always of a riotous character. 
At her festivals, which took place at night, the wildest 
music of flutes, cymbals, and drums resounded, whilst 
joyful shouts and cries, accompanied by dancing and 
loud stamping of feet, filled the air. 

The principal seat of her worship was at Crete, into 
which place this divinity was introduced by its first col- 
onists from Phryg^ia, in Asia Minor, in which country 
she was worshiped under the name of Cybele. The 
people of Crete adored her as the Great Mother, more 
especially as the sustainer of the vegetable world. Seeing, 
however, that year by year, as winter appears, all her 
glor}'^ vanishes, her flowers fade, and her trees become 
leafless, they poetically expressed this process of nature 
under the figure of a lost love. She was said to have 
been tenderly attached to a youth of remarkable beauty 
named A^tys, who, to her grief and indignation, proved 
faithless to her. He was about to wed Sag^aris, daughter 
of the king of Pessinus, in Phrygia. In the midst of 
the wedding feast, Rhea suddenly appeared. A panic 
seized the assembled guests, and Atys, becoming frantic, 
rushed to the mountains and destroyed himself. He 
was turned into a pine-tree, into which his soul passed, 
while from his blood sprung a wreath of violets. 

In April of each year, the Corybantes crowned a pine- 
tree and covered it with a veil of Cybele. They marched 
to the mountains, and to music of fifes and drums they 
rushed through the woods with frantic cries, searching 
for Atys. When he — an image of him — was fou id, the 
priests grew frenzied with joy and cut themselv^: with 
knives. 

Rhea was called Idse^a Mater (Idaean Mother), from 
Mount Ida, on the island of Crete. 

In Rome, the Greek Rhea was identified with Ops, the 
wife of Saturn. She was called Magna Mater, also 
Dindyme^ne. This latter title she acquired from three 



36 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



high mountains in Phrygia, whence she was brought to 
Rome as Cybele during the second Punic war, b. c. 205, 
in obedience to an injunction contained in the Sibylline 
books. She was represented as a matron crowned with 
towers, seated in a chariot drawn by lions. 




ZEUS. 

Comparative Mythology. — Greek, Zeus; Roman, 
Jove or Jupiter; Hindu, Dyaus. 

Zeus, the -son of Chronos and Rhea, when born, was 
concealed by his mother in a cave of Mount Ida, in Crete. 
A goat called Amalthe^a provided him with milk ; 
nymphs called Melissse fed him with honey, and eagles 
and doves brought him nectar and ambrosia. The Cu- 
retes, or priests of Rhea, by beating their shields together, 



ZEUS. 



37 



kept up a constant noise, which drowned the cries of the 
child and frightened away all intruders. 

Zeus and his brothers having gained a complete victory 
over their enemies, settled b}^ lot that Zeus should reign 
in Heaven, Aides in the Lower World, and Poseidon 
should have command over the Sea. The supremacy 
of Zeus was recognized in all three kingdoms. Earth 
and Olympus were common property. This new order 
of things was by no means securely established. The 
resentment of Gsea led her to produce the giant Typho^- 
eus, a monster with a hundred fire-breathing dragons' 
heads, whom she sent to overthrow the dominion of 
Zeus. A great battle took place, which shook heaven 
and earth. Zeus, by means of his never-failing thun- 
derbolts, at length overcame the monster, and buried 
him beneath Mount ^t^na, in Sicily, whence at times 
he still breathes out fire and flames towards heaven. 

The Gigantes are said to have sprung from the 
drops of blood which fell on the earth from the muti- 
lated Uranus. From the plains of Phle^gra, in Thes^- 
saly, they sought to storm Olympus by piling Pelion 
upon Os^sa. After a fierce battle, in which all the 
gods took part, they were conquered, and sent to 
share the fate of the vanquished Titans. The dominion 
of Zeus was now securely established, and no hostile 
attack ever after disturbed the peaceful ease of the in- 
habitants of Olympus. 

To Zeus all the aerial phenomena, such as the thunder 
and lightning, the wind, the clouds, the snow, and the 
rainbow, are ascribed, and he sends them either as signs 
and warnings, or to punish the transgressions of men. 
Zeus is called the " father of gods and men his power 
over both is represented as supreme. In his palace on 
Olympus, Zeus was supposed to live after the fashion of 
a Grecian prince in the midst of his family. 

Zeus was the earliest national god of the Greeks. 
4 



88 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



His worship extended throughout the whole of Greece, 
though some of his shrines had a special importance. 
The most ancient of them was that of Dodo'na, where 
the Pelas^gian Zeus was worshiped at a time prior to 
the existence of any temple in Greece. Mountain-tops 
were the earliest seats of his worship. He was repre- 
sented in the celebrated form of the sacred oak, in the 
rustling of whose branches the deity revealed himself 
to the faithful. Later, near the temple at Dodona were 
two columns. On one was a brazen vase, on the other 
the figure of a child holding a whip with three brass 
chains, each chain having a knot at the end. The con- 
stant winds of Dodona caused these chains to frequently 
strike the brazen vase, and upon the longer or shorter du- 
ration of the sounds the priestess based her predictions. 

But all the earlier shrines were overshadowed by the 
great national seat of the worship of Hellen^ic Zeus at 
Olym^pia, on the northern bank of the river Alphe^us, 
in E^lis, where the renowned Olympian games were cel- 
ebrated. The magnificent statue of Zeus, by Phid^ias, 
was an additional inducement to devotees, who flocked 
thither from every quarter. The Olympic games tended 
to the promotion of physical beauty and strength, the 
cultivation of heroic poetry, and the deepening of fra- 
ternal feeling. Eewards were crowns of olive leaves. 
Sacrifices offered were bulls and rams, accompanied with 
off'erings of frankincense, wheat, and honey, with liba- 
tions of wine. 

The worship of Jupiter was no less extensive in Italy. 
The mbst renowned of all his shrines was undoubtedly 
the temple erected by Tar^quin on the Capitol at Kome. 
This, after being nearly destroyed by fire in the time of 
Sulla, was restored to more than its pristine splendor. 
The original earthen image was replaced by a statue of 
gold and ivor}^ the work of the Greek artist Apollo^nius, 
after the model of the Olympian Zeus. 



ZEUS, 



89 



Capitolini Lu^di were games yearly celebrated at 
Eome in honor of Jupiter, who was beUeved to have pre- 
served the Capitol from the Gauls. The Capitol was the 
temple of Jupiter at Rome. 

The earliest wife of Zeus was Mentis, a daughter 
of Oceanus. Zeus devoured her, fearing that she 
should beget a son, who would deprive him of the 
empire it had cost him so much to attain. Soon after 
this, feeling violent pains in his head, he sent for He- 
phses^tus (Yulcan), and ordered him to open it with an 
axe. His command was obeyed, and forth sprung PaF- 
las Athene^ (Minerva), fully armed. His second goddess- 
wife was The 'mis, who was the mother of the Horse 
(Seasons) and Moe^rse (Fates). Dio^ne appears as the 
wife of Zeus of Dodona, and the mother of Aphrodite 
(Yenus), while Arcadian Zeus was wedded to Ma^ia, 
whose son was Her^mes (Mercury). Perseph^one (Pros- 
erpine) was the daughter of Zeus and Deme^ter (Ceres). 
Zeus and Euryn'ome were the parents of the -Ghar^ites 
(Graces) ; Zeus and Mnemos^yne, of the Muses ; Zeus and 
Le^to (Lato'na), of Apollo and Ar^temis (Diana). He^ra 
(Juno) was recognized as his only legitimate queen. She 
was the mother of A^res (Mars), Hephses^tus (Yulcan), 
and He 'be. 

In the union of Zeus with most of his immortal wives, 
we shall find that an allegorical meaning is conveyed. 
His marriage with Metis represents supreme power alUed 
to wisdom and prudence. His union with Themis typi- 
fies the bond which exists between divine majesty and 
justice, law and order. Eurynome supplied the refining 
and harmonizing influences of grace and beauty, whilst 
his marriage with Mnemosyne typifies the union of genius 
with memory. 

The celebrated hero Her^acles (Hercules) was the son 
of Zeus and Akme^na. 

Anti^ope, daughter of Kyc'teus, and niece of Ly^cus, 



40 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



king of Thebes, was surprised by Jupiter in the form of 
a satyr. Dreading the anger of her father, she fled to 
Si^^yon, where she married Epo'peus. Xycteus put an 
end to his life, charging his brother Lycus to take ven- 
geance on Antiope and her husband. Soon afterwards 
Lycus slew Epopeus, and led Antiope back a captive to 
Thebes. Her infant sons were exposed on the moun- 
tains, where they were found by a shepherd, who reared 
them, and named one Ze'thus, the other Amphi^on. 
Antiope, who was treated with great cruelty by Dir^ce, 
the wife of Lycus, fled for protection to her sons when 
they were grown up. They attacked and slew Lycus, 
and, tying Dirce by the hair to a wild bull, let him drag 
her till she expired."^ 

Amphion, having become king of Thebes, fortified the 
city with a wall. It is said that when he played on his 
lyre, the stones moved of their own accord, and took their 
places in the wall. 

In sculpture, Amphion is always represented with a 
lyre ; Zethus, with a club. 

Le'da, whose afi'ections Zeus gained under the form 
of a swan, was the mother of four children — two mortal 
and two immortal. They were Cas'tor and Poriux, 
called Dioscu^ri (sons of Zeus), and Helen and Clytem- 
nes^tra, who were celebrated in connection with the 
Trojan war. 

Castor was represented as a mortal, and the son of 
Tynda'reus, and Pollux as immortal, and the son of 
Zeus. After Castor had fallen in the contest with the 
sons of Aph^areus, his brother Pollux, unwilling to part 
from him, prevailed on Zeus to allow them to remain 
together, on condition of their spending one day in 



* The punishment of Dirce is the subject of a celebrated group 
of statuary now in the Museum at Naples, known as the Farnese 
Bull. 



ZEUS. 



41 



Olympus and the next in Ha^des. They thus led a life 
divided between mortality and immortality. 

" The interpretation of this myth is somewhat difficult. 
It is commonly supposed that they were ancient Pelo- 
ponne^sian divinities of light, who, after the Dorian in- 
vasion, were degraded to the rank of heroes. They are 
often interpreted as personifications of the morning and 
evening star, or of the twilight (dawn and dusk). They 
were venerated not only in their native Sparta, but 
throughout the whole of Greece, as kindly, beneficent 
deities, whose aid might be invoked either in battle or in 
the dangers of shipwreck. In this latter character they 
are lauded by an Homeric hymn, in which they are rep- 
resented as darting through the air on their golden wings, 
in order to calm the storm at the prayer of the terror- 
stricken mariner. It has been remarked that these Dios- 
curi flitting about on their golden wings are probably 
nothing more than what is commonly called St. Elmo's 
fire— an electric flame which is often seen playing round 
the tops of the masts during a storm, and which is re- 
garded by sailors as a sign of its speedy abatement." — 
Seemann, 

Euro'pa was the beautiful daughter of Age'nor (king 
of Phoenicia) and Telephas^sa. She was one day gather- 
ing flowers with her companions in a meadow near the 
sea-shore, when Zeus, charmed with her great beauty, 
and wishing to win her love, transformed himself into a 
beautiful white bull, and quietly approached the princess. 
Surprised at the gentleness of the animal, and admiring 
its beauty, she caressed it, crowned it with flowers, and 
at last playfully seated herself on its back. The dis- 
guised god bounded away with his lovely burden, and 
swam across the sea with her to the island of Crete. 

Europa was the mother of Mi^nos, Khadaman^thus, 
and Sarpe^don. The first two became judges in the lower 
world after death. 
4^ 



42 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



Europa is the morning with its broad-spreadiug light, 
bom in the Phoenician, or purple land of the dawn. She 
is the child of Telephassa, — the being who shines from 
afar. But she is soon taken from her beautiful home. In 
Hindu myths, the bull Indra shatters the car of Daph^ne ; 
in the Greek tale, the bull carries Europa over seas and 
mountains, journeying always, like the sun, from east to 
w^est. The Dawn has been taken from the sky, but her 
mother follows her, until at length she sinks to sleep in 
the Thessalian plain in the evening, just as the pale and 
tender light which precedes the sun's rising re-appears 
only to die out in the western heavens at eventide. " — Cox, 

Zeus and ^gi'na were the parents of ^'acus, so re- 
nowned for his justice that he was made one of the 
judges in the lower world. 

lo^, daughter of the river-god In^achus, was a priestess 
of Hera* Her great beauty attracted the notice of Zeus. 
On remai^king this, Hera, in her jealousy, changed lo 
into a white heifer, a'tid set the hundred-eyed Ar'gus to 
watch her. When asleep, he closed only two eyes at a 
time. Her^mes, however, by the command of Zeus, suc- 
ceeded in putting all his eyes to sleep with the sound of 
his magic lyre, and then, taking advantage of his help- 
less condition, slew him. It is related that Hera placed 
his eyes on the tail of the peacock. Hera avenged herself 
by sending a gadfly to torment lo, who, in her madness, 
wandered through Europe and Asia, until she at length 
found rest in Egypt, where, touched by the hand of Zeus, 
she recovered her original form and gave birth to a son, 
who was called Ep^aphus. He afterwards became king 
of Egypt, and built Memphis. 

"This myth has received many embellishments, for 
the wanderings of lo became more extensive with the 
growth of geographical knowledge. Bosphorus (cow- 
bearer) received its name from this story. lo (the wan- 
derer) is the moon, whose apparently irregular course 



ZEUS. 



43 



and temporary disappearance were considered a curious 
phenomenon by the ancients. The moon-goddess of 
antiquity was very frequently represented under the 
figure of a heifer ; and I^sis lierself, the Egyptian god- 
dess of the moon, was always depicted with horns. The 
guardian of the heifer, the hundred-eyed Argus, is a 
symbol of the starry heaven. Argus was slain by Hermes, 
the rain-god ; in other words, the stars were rendered in- 
visible by the thick clouds. There is nothing extraordinary 
in representing the apparent irregularity of the moon's 
course, inexplicable as it was to the ancients, under the 
guise of mental disorder. In the south-east — the direc- 
tion in which Egypt lay from Greece — lo again appears 
as the full moon, in her original shape." — Seemann, 

Callis^to, the daughter of Lyca'on, king of Arcadia, 
was a huntress in the train of Artemis, devoted to the 
pleasures of the chase, who had made a vow never to 
marry, but Zeus, under the form of the huntress-god- 
dess, succeeded in gaining her affections. Artemis drove 
the guiltless offender from her society. Callisto was 
mother of a son named Ar^cas. Hera being extremely 
jealous changed her into a bear. Her son, when he 
grew up, meeting her in the woods, was about to kill 
her, when Zeus, transporting both mother and son to the 
skies, made them the constellations of the two bears, 
Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Hera induced Oceanus 
and Tethys to forbid them from coming into their waters, 
and consequently the two constellations of the Great and 
Little Bears move round and round in heaven, but never 
sink, as the other stars seem to do, beneath the ocean. 

Prometheus, in Lowell's poem, says : 

" One after one the stars have risen and set, 
Sparkling upon the hoar-frost of my chain ; 
The Bear, that prowled all night about the fold 
Of the North Star, hath shrunk into his den. 
Scared by the blithesome footsteps of the dawn." 



44 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



The Greeks supposed that Zeus occasionally assumed 
a human form, and descended from his celestial abode, 
in order to visit mankind and observe their proceedings. 
On one occasion he made a journey through Arcadia. 
Being recognized by the Arcadians as king of heaven, 
he was received by them with becoming respect and 
veneration ; but Lyca^on, their king, doubted the divin- 
ity of Zeus. He invited him to dinner, and served up 
for him a dish of human flesh, in order to test the god's 
omniscience. But Zeus was not to be deceived, and the 
impious monarch received the punishment which his 
crime merited. He was transformed into a wolf, and 
his house was destroyed by lightning. 

Zeus and Hermes once came in the evening to a village, 
where they sought hospitality, but nowhere did they 
receive welcome till they reached the cottage of an old 
man and his wife, called Phile'mon and Bau^cis, who 
entertained them as well as their humble means would 
allow. The gods revealed their rank, and desired the 
aged couple to accompany them to the summit of a 
neighboring hill. On looking down towards their village, 
they saw nothing but a lake, with their cottage standing 
on its side. As they gazed, it became a temple. Zeus 
asked the worthy pair to name any wish they particu- 
larly desired, and it should be granted. They accord- 
ingly begged that they might serve the gods in the temple 
below, and end life together. Their wish was granted ; 
and one day, as they were standing before the temple, 
they were transformed into trees, remaining forever side 
by side. 

Representations. 

Zeus is generally represented as sitting upon a golden or ivory 
throne, holding in one hand thunderbolts just ready to be hurled, 
and in the other a sceptre of cypress. His looks express majesty, 
his beard flows long, and an eagle stands with expanded wings at 
his feet. He generally appears with the upper part of his body 



ZEUS, 



nude, and the lower part carefully covered, as if to show that he 
is visible to the gods above, but that he is concealed from the 
sight of the inhabitants of earth. 

At La9ed8e^mon, or Sparta, he was represented with four 
heads, that he might seem to hear with greater readiness the 
different prayers which were daily offered to him from every 
part of the earth. 

The Cre^'tans represented Zeus without ears, to signify that 
the sovereign master of the world ought not to give partial ear 
to any particular person, but be equally propitious to all. 

At Ar^'gos, there was an ancient wooden statue of Zeus which 
had a third eye in its forehead. The three eyes were indicative 
of the dominion of Zeus over heaven, earth, and the under- 
world. 

As Jupiter Am^mon, he is represented as having the horns of 
a ram. The temple of Lib^yan Jove was called, together with 
the surrounding country, Hammonia, and the temple was known 
to antiquity as the temple of Jupiter Ham^mon. Siwah still 
bears the ruins of the oracle and shrine to which it owes its fame. 
Not only the surrounding countries of Africa, but the Italians 
and Greeks paid to this oracle a deference and respect unsur- 
passed by the veneration with which they consulted the oracular 
deities of Dodona and Delphi. Even in the fifth century of our 
era, it was not unusual to anticipate the Fates by consultation 
of the Libyan Jove. 

The most singular representation is that exhibiting Jupiter 
Pluvia^lis, designed to commemorate his interposition in sending 
rain on a certain occasion. 

Pluvius was a surname of Jupiter as god of rain. He was in- 
voked by that name among the Romans whenever the earth was 
parched by continual heat. 



46 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 




HE^RA. 

Comparative Mj^hology.— GVaei;, He'ra; Roman, 
Ju'no ; Egyptian, Sa'ti. 

Hera, daughter of Chronos and Ehea, was believed to 
have been educated by Oceanus and Tethys. She seems, 
originally, to have personified the air (the lower aerial 
regions), but among the Greeks this natural significa- 
tion seems to have quickly disappeared, and she was 
chiefly honored as the guardian of the marriage-tie. 

The marriage of Zeus and Hera typified the union of 
heaven and earth in the fertilizing showers. It was 
called ''the sacred marriage," and every living being 
was invited. The nymph, -Chelo^ne, not only refused to 
attend, but indulged in raillery. Hermes was i^nt in 
search of her, and found her in her house, which was 
upon the bank of a river. He threw the nymph into the 
river, and transformed her into a tortoise, which was 
condemned to carry its house upon its back ; as a pun- 



HERA. 



47 



ishment for raillery, perpetual silence was enjoined upon 
her. 

Gsea presented to Hera a tree laden with golden apples. 
It was placed under the charge of the Hesperides at the 
foot of Mount Atlas. 

On the first day of every month a ewe-lamh and a sow 
were sacrificed to Hera. The hawk, goose, and peacock 
were sacred to her. Her favorite flowers were the dit- 
tany, poppy, and lily. Her most famous temples were 
at Olympia, Argos, and Sa^mos. 

The Daed^ala and To'nea were Greek festivals in hon- 
or of Hera. The " Little Dsedala " was celebrated every 
seven years, and the " Great Deedala " every sixty years. 

The Tonea was a solemnity observed at Samos. It 
was usual to carry Hera's statue to the sea-shore, to ofier 
cakes before it, and afterwards to replace it in the tem- 
ple. This was in commemoration of the theft of the 
Tyrrhe^nians, who attempted to carry away the statue 
of the goddess, but were detained in the harbor by an 
invisible force. 

Hera was jealous in the highest degree, and, to stop 
her complaints, Zeus often had recourse to violence. 
He punished her cruelties towards Heracles by sus- 
pending her from the heavens by a golden chain, and 
hanging anvils to her feet. Hephaestus attempted to 
release her, for which Zeus threw him out of heaven, 
and his leg was broken by the fall. 

Hera was the mother of Ares, Hephaestus, Hebe, and 
Ilithy^ia. 

Hera resented with great severity any infringement 
on her rights as queen of heaven, or any apparent slight 
on her personal appearance. 

At the marriage of Pe^leus and The 'tis, all the deities 
were present except E'ris. Indignant at not being invited, 
she determined to cause dissension, and threw into the 
midst of the guests a golden apple, with the inscription 



48 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



on it For the Fairest." The claims of all others were 
obliged to yield to those of Hera, Pallas Athene, and 
Aphrodite, and the decision was left to Paris, son of 
Priam, King of Troy, who, ignorant of his noble birth, 
was at that time feeding flocks on Mount Ida. Hermes 
conducted the rival beauties to the young shepherd. 
Hera promised Paris extensive dominions if he would 
award the prize to her ; Athene promised fame in war ; 
Aphrodite promised the fairest of women. The queen 
of beauty was awarded the apple, and Paris* soon after- 
wards carried off Helen, the wife of Menela^us, King of 
Sparta. Hera was so indignant that she persecuted not 
only him, but all the family of Priam, whose dreadful 
sufl^ rings and misfortunes during the Trojan war were 
attributed to her influence. 

At one time Hera, being deeply offended with Zeus, 
determined to separate herself from him, and she accord- 
ingly^ took up her abode in Euboea. Zeus effected a 
reconciliation by artifice. Cithse^ron, King of Plate ^a, 
advised him to dress an image in bridal attire, place it in 
a chariot, and announce that this was Platea, his future 
wife. Hera, incensed at the idea of a rival, flew in great 
anger to meet the procession, and seizing the supposed 
bride, she furiously dragged off" her nuptial attire. Her 
delight on discovering the deception was so great that a 
reconciliation took place, and committing the image to 
the flames, with joyful laughter she seated herself in its 
place and returned to Olympus. 

It is probable that this story was invented to explain 
the ceremonies of the Daedala. 

Juno, the Eoman divinity, supposed to be identical 
with the Greek Hera, differed from her in important 
characteristics. Hera invariably appears as the haughty, 
unbending queen of heaven ; Juno is revered and beloved 
as the type of a matron. Juno was believed to watch 



* Read Teuuysou's ''CEiioue.'* 



POSEIDON, 



49 



over and guard the life of every woman from her birth 
to her death. 

On the first of March, a grand annual festival called 
the Ma'tronalia was celebrated in her honor by all the 
married women of Rome. 

Mone^ta, the adviser, was a surname of Juno, in whose 
temple at Rome money was coined. 

The Roman consuls, when they entered upon office, were 
always obliged to offer to Juno a solemn sacrifice. 

Representations. 

Hera is usually represented seated on a throne, a diadem on 
her head, and a golden sceptre in her right hand. Some peacocks 
generally sit by her, and a cuckoo often perches on her sceptre. 

She is sometimes represented as carried through the air in a 
rich chariot drawn by peacocks. 

Epithets. — Ox-eyed, white-armed, gold-seated, gold-shod. 




POSEFDON. 

Comparative Mytholgoy. — Greek, Posei'don; Bo- 
man, Neptune ; Hindu, Varu'na. , 
5 D 



50 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



Poseidon was a son of Chronos and Ehea. He was god 
of the sea, as having under his control the forces that 
affect its movements rather than as himself inhabiting 
its waters. Ne^reus was believed to live in the deep 
waters, and he stood in the same relation to Poseidon 
which Helios, who was believed to dwell in the sun, 
bore to Phoebus Apollo, the lord of light. \^ 

In addition to his residence on Olympus, Poseidon had 
a splendid palace beneath the sea at ^^gae, in Euboea, 
where he kept his horses with golden manes and brazen 
hoofs. Like the element over which he presided, he was 
described by the poets as being at times quiet and com- 
posed, and at others as disturbed and ^. He was 
said to be haughty, powerful, vindir patient. 
He was believed to be able to cause . ^es at his 

pleasure, and to raise islands from tL the sea 

with a blow of his trident. 

Mariners always invoked and propitiated Poseidon by 
a libation before a voyage was undertaken, and sacrifices 
and thanksgivings were gratefully offered to him after a 
safe and prosperous voyage. 

As the deity having special control over commerce, 
Poseidon was held in great reverence by the Phoenicians. 
He was the presiding deity over fishermen, and was 
on that account more particularly revered in countries 
bordering on the sea-coast, where fish naturally formed 
a staple commodity of trade. He was supposed to vent 
his displeasure by sending disastrous inundations, which 
completely destroyed whole countries, and were usually 
accompanied by terrible marine monsters, which devoured 
those whom the floods had spared. It is probable that 
these sea-monsters are the poetical figures which rep- 
resent the demons of hunger and famine necessarily 
accompanying a general inundation. 

In honor of Poseidon, the Greeks maintained the 
Isthmian Games, or Isthmia. This festival was cele- 



POSEIDON. 



51 



brated on the isthmus of Corinth in April or May of each 
alternate j^ear. The games consisted of athletic sports, 
also contests in music and poetry. The prizes were gar- 
lands of pine leaves or of ivy. The sacrifices offered 
were black bulls, rams, and boars. The gall of victims 
was also offered. The bodies were thrown into the sea. 

The wife of Poseidon was Amphitri'te. Their children 
were Triton, Rhoda, and Benthesi^^yme. Triton was 
his father's trumpeter ; Rhoda married the Sun-god. 
The island of Rhodes was named for her. 

The Cyclops Polyphe^mus was son of Poseidon and 
Thoo^sa. The sea-god was the father of two giant sons 
called O'tuF " <vd EphiaFtes. When only nine years old, 
they end ^ scale heaven by piling mighty moun- 

tains one dier. They had succeeded in placing 

Mount ilion, when this impious project was 

frustrateu ^^poUo, who destroyed them with his 
arrows. 

Ari'on was a horse, the offspring of Poseidon and Dem- 
e^ter, which had the power of speech, the feet on the 
right side like those of a man, and the rest of the body 
like a horse. 

The favorite animal of Poseidon was the horse, which 
he was supposed to have created. This may, perhaps, 
be due to the fact that the imagination of the Greeks 
pictured the horses of Poseidon in the rolling and bound- 
ing waves. In Athens, the origin of the horse was re- 
ferred to the contest between Athene and Poseidon. 
They both claimed the right to name the city which 
Ce^crops had built. The dispute was settled by an 
assembly of the gods, who decided that the one who 
presented mankind with the most useful gift, should 
have the privilege of naming the city. Poseidon struck 
the ground with his trident, and the horse sprung forth. 
Prom the spot which Athene touched with her wand 
issued the olive-tree. The gods unanimously awarded 



52 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



to her the victory, declaring her gift to be the emblem 
of peace and plenty, whilst that of Poseidon was the 
symbol of war and bloodshed. Athene called the city 
Athens. Poseidon tamed the horse for the use of man- 
kind. In Arcadia he was worshiped under the name of 
Hip'pios. 

As a punishment for joining with Hera and Athene in 
a conspiracy to dethrone Zeus, he was deprived of his 
dominion over the sea for one year. It was during this 
time that, in conjunction with Apollo, he built for La- 
om^edon the walls of Troj-. Because Laomedon refused 
to pay for the work, Poseidon favored the Greeks in the 
Trojan war. 

Poseidon disputed with Apollo his right to the isthmus 
of Corinth. Bria^reus, the Cyclops, who was mutually 
chosen umpire, gave the isthmus to Poseidon, and the 
promontory to Apollo. The contests between Poseidon 
and other deities merel}' signify the encroachments of 
the sea upon the land. 

The Romans invested Keptune with all the attributes 
which belong to the Greek Poseidon. The Roman com- 
manders never undertook am^ naval expedition without 
propitiating Xeptune by a sacrifice. 

His temple at Rome was in the Campus Martins, and 
the festival commemorated in his honor was the Neptu- 
nalia, or Consualia. Horses were led through the streets 
finely equipped and crowned with garlands, and all horses 
were allowed to rest from labor during this festival. 
. Con^sus was the name of Xeptune as god of counsel. 
His altar was underground. Counsel should generally 
be given privately, therefore Consus was worshiped in 
obscure and private places. 

Representations. 

Sometimes he stands upright on a large shell, holding his tri- 
dent, and arrayed in a mantle of blue or of sea-green. Often 



AIDES. 



53 



he is sitting in a chariot, or a shell with wheels, drawn by hip- 
pocampi. He is sometimes accompanied by Amphitrite. His 
image is very frequent on coins and medals. He is described as 
having black hair and blue eyes, and a serene and majestic aspect. 

Epithets. — Earth-holding, earth-shaking, dark-haired, wide- 
ruling, loud-sounding. 




ABIDES, OR PLUTO. 
Comparative My thology.— GreeA;, A'ides, or Pluto; 
Eomariy Or'cus, or Dis; Egyptian, Osi'ris, or S^ra'pis; 
Hindu, Ya'ma. 

Aides (Hades) was a son of Chronos and Ehea. The 
name Aides signifies dark, gloomy, melancholy, and in- 
visible. The term Hades at a later time denoted the 
unseen world beneath the earth. When it was said 
that the dead had gone to Hades, all that was literally 
meant was that they had gone to the unseen place. 

The Greek name Pluton, or Pluto, as well as the Latin 
6* 



54 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



name Dis, signifies wealth, because our wealth comes 
from the lowest parts of the earth. 

"The early Greeks regarded Aides as their greatest 
foe, and Homer tells us that he was ' of all the gods the 
most detested,' being in their eyes the grim robber who 
stole from them their nearest and dearest, and eventually 
deprived each of them of his share in the terrestrial ex- 
istence. 

This conception was subsequently supplanted by one 
of a less dismal nature, in which the other side of his 
character is brought into prominence. From this point 
of view he is represented not only as sending nourishment 
to plants from the deep bosom of the earth, but also as 
offering unbounded riches to mankind in the shape of 
precious metals, which lie in his subterraneous passages 
and chambers. 

"But though th^ original dismal conception of this deity 
as the inexorable god of death was much diminished in 
course of time, yet Hades, nevertheless, always conveyed 
to the Greek mind an idea of something mysterious and 
grim. He can, in fact, scarcely be said to have had a 
place in the public worship of the Greeks." — Seemann, 

"In the Homeric age it was supposed that when a 
mortal ceased to exist, his spirit tenanted the shadowy 
outline of the human form it had quitted. These shades, 
as they were called, were driven by Aides into his do- 
minions, where they passed their time in brooding over 
the vicissitudes of fortune which they had experienced 
on earth, or in regretting the lost pleasures they had en- 
joyed in life, but all in a state of semi-consciousness, 
from which the intellect could be roused to full activity 
only by drinking of the blood of the sacrifices oflfered to 
their shades by living friends." — Berens, 

The narcissus, maiden-hair fern, and cypress were 
sacred to Aides. He had temples erected to his honor at 
Olympia, Athens, and in Ehs. His sacrifices, which took 



AIDES, 



55 



place at night, consisted of black sheep, and the blood, 
instead of being sprinkled on the altars or received in 
vessels as at other sacrifices, was permitted to run into 
the ground. The officiating priests wore black robes, 
and were crowned with cypress. 

It was said that at the close of the Titan war the Cy- 
clopes made for Pluto a helmet which rendered the wearer 
invisible. 

The Komans supposed that there was in the centre of 
the earth a vast, gloomy, and impenetrably dark cavity 
called Orcus, which formed a place of eternal rest for the 
dead. But with the introduction of Greek mythology, 
the Roman Orcus became the Greek Hades, and all the 
Greek ideas with regard to a future state then prevailed 
with the Romans, who worshiped Aides under the name 
of Pluto, his other appellations being Dis (from dives, 
rich) and Orcus, from the dominions over which he ruled. 
He had no temple in Rome, but, in common with Proser^- 
pina, he had a subterranean altar in the Campus Martins, 
which was uncovered and used once a year. Only black 
animals were sacrificed to him. 

The Fera^lia was a festival in honor of the dead, held 
in February, accompanied with a solemn expiation or 
purification of the city. This expiation was called "feb- 
ruatio," whence the name of the month. It continued 
from the eighteenth to the end of the month, during 
which time presents were carried to the graves of de- 
ceased friends and relatives, the living held feasts of 
love and reconciliation, and the temples of the gods 
were closed. 

Er^ebus was a general term comprehending the palace 
and domain of Pluto, also Tar^tarus, a place of impris- 
onment. 

The souls of those who had lived a virtuous life were 
sent to the Elysian Fields. Homer locates them in the 
"Isles of the Blessed " in the ocean. 



56 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



Later poets mention various entrances to Hades ; the 
most celebrated was in Italy, near Lake Avernus, over 
which it was said no bird could fly, so noxious were its 
exhalations. 

Old Age, Disease, and Hunger— avengers of guilt — 
were supposed to dwell in caves near the entrance of 
Hades. 

Field of As^phodel was a place where spirits waited 
for those whose fate had not been decided. 

In the dominions of Aides were several rivers— Ach''- 
eron (grief), Coyy^tus (lamentation), Le^the (oblivion), 
Pyriphle^gethon (fire-flaming), and Styx (dread). The 
last was said to encompass these realms nine times, and 
could be crossed only by the aid of -Gha^ron, the ferry- 
man, a grim, unshaven old man. He took only those 
whose bodies had received funereal"^ rites on earth, and 
who had brought with them the indispensable toll, which 
was a small coin (obolus), usually placed under the tongue 
of a dead person for that purpose. 

All the shades were obliged to appear before Minos, 
the supreme judge, whose tribunal was guarded by the 
terrible triple-headed dog Cer^berus,t which, with his 
three necks bristling with snakes, lay at full length on 
the ground. He permitted all shades to enter, but none 
to return. 

The guilty souls, after leaving the presence of Minos, 



- The Romans, like the Greeks, attached great importance to the 
interment of their dead, as they believed that the spirit of an un- 
buried body was forced to wander for a hundred years. Hence, it 
was deemed a religious duty to scatter earth over any corpse found 
uncovered by the wayside, a handful of dust being sufficient to 
appease the god of the lower world. If the body of a friend could 
not be found, as in shipwreck, an empty tomb was erected, over 
which the usual rites were performed. 

f Cerberus, in Greek, meant originally the dark one, — the dog of 
night watching the path to the lower world. 



AIDES. 



57 



were conducted to the great judgment-hall of Hades, 
whose massive walls of solid adamant were surrounded 
by the river Phleg^ethon, the waves of which rolled 
flames of fire, and lit up, with their lurid glare, these 
awful realms. In the interior sat the judge, Bhadaman^- 
thus, who declared to each comer the precise torments 
which awaited him in Tartarus. The wretched sinners 
were then seized by the Furies, who scourged them with 
their whips, and dragged them along to the great gate 
which closed the opening to Tartarus, into whose awful 
depths they were hurled, to suffer endless torture. Tar- 
tarus was supposed to be as far below Hades as the earth 
is distant from the skies. 

The waters of the Le^the had the power of producing 
utter forgetfulness of former events. According to the 
doctrine of the transmigration of souls, it was supposed 
that, after the shades had inhabited Elys^ium for a thou- 
sand years, they were destined to animate other bodies 
on earth, and before leaving Elysium they drank of the 
river Lethe, in order that they might enter upon their 
new career without any remembrance of the past. 

Representations. 

Aides, or Pluto, is generally represented holding a two-pronged 
sceptre. He sometimes has keys in his hand, to intimate that 
whoever enters his kingdom cannot return. 

Sometimes he is represented sitting on a throne with Perseph^- 
one. His head is veiled, and he holds a sceptre. 

Epithets. — Subterranean-Zeus, people-collecting, much-re- 
ceiving, gate-keeping, laughterless, horse-renowned, invisible, 
strong, hateful, cold. 

The punishments of great criminals in the infernal re- 
gions were a fruitful theme for the imagination of the 
poets. The most celebrated criminals were Tit^yiis, 
Tan^talus, Sis^yphus, Phle^gyas, Ixi^on, and the Dana^- 



58 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY 



ides. The punishment of Tityus, who had offered vio- 
lence to Le^to, consisted in having an enormous vulture 
prey without ceasing upon his liver, Tantalus had been 




SIS'YPHUS. IXT'ON. TANTALUS. 



deemed worthy to hold intercourse with the gods, until 
he put their omniscience to the test by setting before 
them the flesh of his son Pe^lops. This crime he was 
condemned to expiate by the torments of continual hun- 
ger and thirst. Above his head were suspended the most 
beautiful fruits, but when he attempted to snatch them, 
a gust of wind blew them beyond his reach. At his feet 
gushed a fountain of purest water, but when he tried to 
quench his thirst, it suddenl}' vanished into the ground. 
Sisyphus, King of Corinth, was condemned, in conse- 
quence of his numerous crimes, to roll a huge stone up a 
high mountain, which, on reaching the top, always rolls 
down again to the plain. 

" Not in Hades alone 
Doth Sisyphus roll, ever frustrate, the stone, 
Do the Danaids ply, ever vainly, the sieve. 
Tasks as futile does earth to its denizens give." — Lucille. 



59 



Phlegyas, to avenge an injury received from Apollo, 
burned the temple of that god at Delphi. He was placed 
where a stone hanging over his head, and evermore 
threatening to fall, kept him in a perpetual state of terror. 

Ixion, a not less insolent offender, was bound hand 
and foot to an ever-revolving wheel. 

The Danaides, who, at their father's command, had 
slain their husbands on their wedding-night, were con- 
demned to pour water continually into a cask full of 
holes, which could never be filled. 

The story of Tantalus means that the sun, when he 
glared too fiercely, killed the fruits which his warmth 
was ripening, and dried up the streams over which he 
passed. 

The stone of Sisyphus is an emblem of the indestructi- 
bility of hope. It symbolizes the sun, which, daily after 
reaching the highest point, seems to drop down again. 

''Ixion means the sun at mid-day, whose four-spoked 
wheel, in the words of Pindar, is seen whirling in the 
heavens. 

" Sieve of the Danaides, or perforated cask, means the 
rainy sky." — Cox. 

MCER^. 

The Fates were called Mce^rae in Greek and Par^cae in 
Latin. Either term signifies a share^ in the sense of 
allotting to every man his share. Some mythologists 
call them the daughters of Nyx, others of Zeus and 
Themis. They were three in number — Clo^tho, Lach^- 
esis, and At^ropos. To them was intrusted the manage- 
ment of the thread of life. Clotho drew the thread, 
Lachesis turned the wheel, and Atropos cut the thread 
with a pair of scissors. That is, Clotho gives life or 
brings us into the world, Lachesis determines the for- 



60 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



tunes that shall befall us here, and Atropos concludes 
our lives. 

Homer speaks of one Moera only, the daughter of 
Night, who represents the moral force by which the 
universe is governed, and to whom both mortals and 
immortals were forced to submit, Zeus himself being 
powerless to avert her decrees ; but in later times this 
conception of one inexorable, all-conquering fate became 
amplified by the poets into that described above. 

It was considered the function of the Moerse to indi- 
cate to the Erin'nys (Furies) the precise torture which 
the wicked should undergo for their crimes. 

They had sanctuaries in many parts of Greece. The 
sacrifices oflered were ewes, flowers, and honey. 

Representations. 

The Moerae were generally represented as three old women. 
One held a distaff, another the spindle, the third a pair of 
scissors. 

Painters and sculptors depicted them as beautiful maidens of 
a grave but kindly aspect. 

When represented at the feet of Aides in the lower world, 
they are clad in dark robes ; but when they appear on Olympus, 
they wear bright garments bespangled with stars, and are 
seated on radiant thrones, with crowns on their heads. 

ERIN^NYS. 

The Erin^nys (Furies) were three in number, Alec^to, 
Megae'ra, and Tisiph^one. They were female divinities, 
who personified the torturing pangs of an evil conscience 
and the remorse which inevitably follows wrong-doing. 

Their office was to observe and punish crimes of the 
wicked, and to torment the consciences of those whose 
crimes had not been made public. 



ERINNTS, 



61 



"Erinnys appears in Sanskrit as Sarunya, a word 
which signifies the light of morning creeping over the 
sky. As this reveals the evil deeds done under cover of 
night, so the lovely Dawn, or Erinnys, came to be re- 
garded, under one aspect, as the terrible detector and 
avenger of iniquity." — Fiske, 

According to Hesiod, they sprung from the blood of 
Uranus when he was wounded by Chronos, and were 
hence supposed to be the embodiment of all the terrible 
imprecations which the defeated deity called down upon 
the head of his rebellious son. 

Their place of abode was the lower world, where they 
were employed by Aides and Persephone to chastise and 
torment those shades who, during their earthly career, had 
committed crimes, and had not been reconciled to the 
gods before descending to Hades. 

They appeared upon earth as the avenging deities who 
relentlessly pursued and punished murderers, perjurers, 
those who had failed m duty to their parents, in hospi- 
tality to strangers, or in the respect due to old age. 

The early representations depicted them as beings of 
terrific appearance, with snakes instead of hair. They 
were sometimes winged. They were clad in black and 
carried a torch, a sword, a knife, a whip, or a serpent. 

Such was the earlier and more dreadful idea of the 
Erinnys. Subsequently, they appear in a milder and 
more kindly guise. So long as men were under the do- 
minion of the law of retaliation, — the dreadful eye for 
eye and tooth for tooth," — they were able to derive 
pleasure from the idea of the inexorable and implacable 
nature of the Erinnys. But when these barbarous cus- 
toms died out before advancing civilization, and society 
- began to surround itself with regular laws which pro- 
tected individual life from arbitrary assaults, then the 
conception of the Erinnys as compassionate^ and even 
benevolent, deities gained ground. Poetical mythology 
6 



62 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



has associated this transformation with the institution 
of the Areop^agus at Athens, and the purification of 
Ores^tes, effected by this court. 

The story relates that Orestes, after having slain his 
mother, Clytemnes'tra, and ^gis'thus, in revenge for 
the murder of his father, Agamem^non, wandered for a 
long time about the earth in a condition bordering on 
madness, owing to the persecution of the Erinnys. They 
constantly held up a mirror to his horrified gaze, in which 
he beheld the face of his murdered mother. At length, 
however, he was befriended by Apollo and Athene. Apollo 
first purified him before his own altar at Delphi, and then 
defended him before the court of the Areopagus, which 
had been founded by Athene. Orestes was here acquitted, 
for Athene, when the votes for and against him were equal, 
declared that then, and in all future time, the criminal 
should have the benefit of the doubt. 

The Furies were at first very angry, and threatened the 
land with barrenness, but Athene succeeded in pacifying 
them by promising that a shrine should be erected to 
them on the hill of the Areopagus. After thej' had 
taken possession of this sanctuary, they were venerated 
by the Athenians under the name of Sem^nae (venerable), 
or Eumen^ides (benevolent), as propitious deities, who, 
though they continued to punish crimes, were ever ready 
to grant mercy to the repentant sinner and to give succor 
to all good men. They were then represented, more 
especially in Athens, as earnest maidens, dressed, like 
Ar^temis, in short tunics suitable for the chase, but still 
retaining in their hands the wand of office in the form 
of a snake. 

Sacrifices to the Furies consisted of black sheep and a 
libation composed of honey and water called Xepha'lia. 

Besides the shrine in Athens, they had another near 
the city, a sacred grove in Colo 'nus, which was celebrated 
as the last refuge of the unfortunate CEd^ipus. 



DEMETER, 



63 




DEME^TER. 
Comparative Mythology. — Greek, Deme'ter ; Ro- 
many Ce'res. 

Demeter (from Ge-meter, earth-mother) was a daughter 
of Chronosand Ehea. She was the goddess of agriculture, 
and represented that portion of Gsea (the whole solid 
earth) which we call the earth's crust, and which pro- 
duces all vegetation. It is necessary to keep clearly in 
view the distinctive difference between the three great 
earth-goddesses Gaea, Rhea, and Demeter. Gaea repre- 
sents the earth as a whole, with its mighty subterranean 
forces ; Rhea is that productive power which causes veg- 
etation to spring forth, thus sustaining men and animals ; 
Demeter, by presiding over agriculture, directs and util- 



64 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



izes Ehea's productive powers. The thriving of the 
crops was ascribed to her influence. She was regarded 
as the patroness of all those arts which are connected 
with agriculture, by means of which men were rescued 
from the lower grades of hunters and shepherds, and 
brought into subjection to law and morality. She thus 
becomes that ''bountiful daughter of Heaven" who, as 
Schiller sings in his " Lay of the Bell : " 

" Of old 

Called the wild man from waste and wold, 
And, in his hut thy presence stealing, 
Roused each familiar household feeling; 

And, best of all happy ties, 
The centre of the social band — 
The Instinct of the Father-land ! " 

The favor of Demeter was believed to bring mankind 
rich harvests and fruitful crops, whereas her displeasure 
caused blight, drought, and famine. The island of Sic- 
ily was supposed to be under her special protection, and 
there she was regarded with particular veneration, the 
Sicilians naturally attributing the wonderful fertility of 
their country to the partiality of the goddess. 

The most celebrated legend linked with the name of 
Demeter is the story of the loss of her daughter, Per- 
sephone, or Co^ra. The latter was once playing with 
the daughters of Oceanus in a flowery meadow, where 
they were picking flowers and making garlands. Per- 
sephone happened to leave her companions for a moment 
to pluck a narcissus, when suddenly the ground opened 
at her feet and Pluto appeared in a chariot. He seized 
and carried off the maiden. All this occurred with the 
knowledge of her father, Zeus, who had, unknown to 
Demeter, promised Persephone to Pluto. 

When Demeter missed her darling child, and none 
could tell her where she had gone, she kindled 



DEMETER. 



65 



torches, and during many daj^s and nights wandered 
over all the earth, not even resting for food or sleep. 
At length, Helios, who sees everything, told Demeter 
what had happened, not disguising, however, that it had 
occurred with the consent of Zeus. Full of wrath and 
grief, the goddess now withdrew from the society of the 
other deities. Meanwhile all the fruits of the earth 
ceased, and a general famine threatened to extinguish 
the human race. In vain Zeus sent one messenger after 
another, beseeching the angry goddess to return to 
Olympus. Demeter swore that she would neither re- 
turn nor allow the fruits of the earth to grow until her 
daughter was restored to her. At length Zeus sent 
Hermes with a petition to Pluto to restore Persephone 
to her mother. He consented, and she joyfully prepared 
to follow the messenger of the gods to light and life. 
Before taking leave of her husband, he presented to her 
a few seeds of pomegranate, which, in her excitement, 
she thoughtlessly swallowed. AscSraphus reported this, 
and, as it was a rule that if any immortal had tasted 
food in the realms of Pluto he must remain there for- 
ever, the hopes of the goddesses were disappointed. 
Zeus finally succeeded in effecting a compromise by 
mducing Pluto to allow Persephone to spend six months 
of the year with her mother, whilst during the other six 
she was to be the joyless companion of her grim lord. 
Every year at spring-tide she ascends from her subter- 
ranean kingdom to enjoy herself in her mother's com- 
pany, but returns again in autumn to the regions of 
darkness and death. 

This legend grew out of the phrases which had at first 
described the change of summer and winter, and it sig- 
nified the temporary loss which mother-earth sustains 
every year when the icy breath of winter robs her of her 
flowers, fruits, and grain. The sorrow of Demeter typi- 
fies the gloom which falls upon the earth during the 
6* E 



66 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



cheerless months of winter. It is believed that in later 
times a still deeper meaning was conveyed by this beau- 
tiful myth, namely, the doctrine of the immortality of 
the soul. The grain, which, as it were, remains dead 
for a time in the dark earth, only to rise one day dressed 
in a newer and lovelier garb, was supposed to symbolize 
the soul, which, after death, is free from corruption and 
lives in a better and purer form. 

Closely connected with this beautiful and expressive 
myth is another which refers to the institution of the 
Eleusin'ian Mysteries. When Demeter, after the loss 
of her daughter, was wandering over the earth in the 
guise of a poor old woman, she came to Eleusis, in At- 
tica. The daughters of Ce'leus, the king of the city, 
found her sitting on a stone near a well. They offered 
the old woman service in their father's house as nurse 
to their youngest brother Demoph^oon, or TriptoFemus. 
The goddess consented, and was kindly received m the 
house of Celeus. She became so fond of the child that 
she resolved to make him immortal by anointing him 
with ambrosia, and then laying him at night in the glow 
of the fire. The imprudent curiosity of his mother, who 
watched the goddess and rushed into the room, deprived 
him of the intended blessing. 

Demeter now revealed herself to Celeus and com- 
manded him to build a temple for her in Eleusis. When 
it had been hastily completed, with the assistance of the 
goddess, she initiated Celeus and some other princes of 
Eleusis in the solemn rites of her service. In order to 
spread abroad the blessings which agriculture confers, 
Demeter presented to Triptolemus her chariot drawn by 
winged dragons, and, giving him some grains of corn, 
desired him to journey through the world, teaching man- 
kind the arts of agriculture and husbandry. 

The Eleusin^ian Mysteries, or Eleusin^ia, were observed 
at Eleusis every fifth year. They were in honor of 



J) E METER. 



67 



Demeter, and were the most celebrated of the religious 
ceremonies of Greece. Some authorities state that Free- 
Masonry is a branch of the Eleusinian order. The chief 
object of these Mysteries was to disseminate better and 
purer ideas of a future life than the popular faith of the 
Greeks aflforded. It was commonly believed that the 
souls of men after death led a dull, miserable existence 
in the world of shadows. Those initiated in the Mys- 
teries, however, were taught that death was only a resur- 
rection of the soul to a brighter and better life, on the 
condition, of course, that a man had fully pleased the 
gods, and rendered himself worthy of such a happy lot. 

The sacrifices offered were millet and barley. Swine 
were sacrificed because they injure the fruits of the earth. 

Demeter punished with severity those that incurred 
her displeasure. Stellio was a youth who ridiculed the 
goddess for the eagerness with which she was eating a 
bowl of porridge, when weary and faint in the vain 
search for her daughter. She angrily threw into his 
face the remainder of the food, and changed him into a 
spotted lizard. 

Erysfeh^thon once cut down an oak-tree which was 
sacred to Demeter. As a punishment, she afflicted him 
with insatiate hunger, and, to procure the means to ap- 
pease it, he sold all his substance, and finally his only 
daughter. As Poseidon had bestowed on this maiden 
the power of changing her form, she always escaped from 
the purchaser in the form of some animal, and returning 
to her father was sold again. Even this means not suffic- 
ing, Erysichthon devoured his own flesh and died. 

Ceres of the Romans was the counterpart of the Greek 
Demeter, her attributes, worship, etc., being identical. 

The Cerca^lia, festivals in honor of Ceres, commenced 
on the 19th of April, and lasted several days. 

Plutus, the son of Ceres and Jasion, was a personifi- 
cation of the wealth derived from grain. He is repre- 



68 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



sented as being lame when he makes his appearance, 
and winged when he takes his departure. He was sup- 
posed to be blind, because he bestows his gifts without 
discrimination, frequently passing over good men to 
heap his treasures upon the bad. 

Representations. 

Demeter is usually represented as a woman of majestic appear- 
ance with beautiful golden hair, the yellow locks being emblem- 
atical of the ripened ears of corn. 

Sometimes she appears seated in a chariot drawn by winged 
dragons ; in other representations she stands erect, and always 
fully draped. She bears a sheaf of wheat-ears in one hand and 
a lighted torch in the other. Her brows are frequently gar- 
landed with poppies. 

Epithets. — Blonde or yellow-haired, fair-tressed, well-gar- 
landed, food-full, youth-rearing, bright-fruited, bright-gifted, 
season-bringer, gold-sickled, green. 




PERSEPH^ONE. 

Comparative Mythology. — Greek, PersSph'oue, or 
Cora ; Romany Pr5s6r'pina. 

Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, was 



ARES. 



69 



queen of the lower world. The Athenians preferred to 
call her by her mystic name of Cora. She embodied two 
distinct conceptions. On the one hand, she appears as 
the wife of the dark god of the lower world, like him, a 
gloomy, awe-inspiring deity, who pitilessly drags down 
all that lives into the hidden depths of the earth, whence 
the grave is called ''the chamber of Persephone." On 
the other hand, she appears as Cora, the lovely daughter 
of Demeter, a personification of that force of nature 
which yearly causes the most luxuriant vegetation to 
spring up, only, however, to die again in the autumn. 

In a somewhat narrower sense, Persephone may be 
regarded as a type of the grain which long remains in 
the ground, where it has been sown, as though dead, 
but afterwards breaks forth into new life. It was only 
natural to associate with this last conception, ideas of 
the immortality of the soul, of which, in the secret doc- 
trines of the Eleusinian Mysteries, Persephone was a 
symbol. 

Representation. 

Persephone is represented as a fair young maiden, or as the 
grave, severe queen of the world of shadows. In the latter 
character she may generally be recognized by her sceptre and 
diadem. 

Epithets. — Illustrious, terrible, holy, white-armed, sable- 
vested. 

A^RES. 

Comparative Mythology. — Greek, A'res ; Romany 
Mars. 

Ares, the son of Zeus and Hera, represents war from 
its fatal and destructive side, by which he is clearly dis- 
tinguished from Athene, the wise disposer of battles. 
He was, probably, originally a personification of the 



70 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 




angry, clouded sky. His home, according to Homer, 
was in Thrace, the land of boisterous wintry storms, 
among whose warlike inhabitants he was held in high 
esteem, but his worship was not so extensive in Greece." 
— Seemanji, 

*'Epic poets represent the god of battles as a wild, 
ungovernable warrior, who passes through the armies 
like a whirlwind, hurling to the ground the brave and 
cowardly alike ; destroying chariots and helmets, and 
triumphing over the terrible desolation." — Berens, 

With strength he combined great agility, and was said 
to be the fleetest of the gods. He was, however, over- 
matched in battle by Athene, a palpable indication that 
prudent courage often accomplishes more than impetuous 
violence. 

In Thebes, Ares was regarded as the god of pestilence ; 
in Athens, as the god of vengeance. 

In the Trojan war, Ares espoused the cause of the 
Trojans. 

Ares upon one occasion incurred the displeasure of 
Poseidon by slaying his son Halirrho'thius. Poseidon 
summoned Ares to appear before the tribunal of the 
Olympic gods, wliich was held upon a hill in Athens. 



ARES. 



71 



Ares was acquitted, and this event is supposed to have 
given rise to the name Areopagus (Hill of Ares), which 
afterwards became so famous as a court of justice. 

Hermi^one (Harmony) was said to be the daughter of 
Ares and Aphrodite, because from Love and Strife, that 
is, attraction and repulsion, arises tlie order or harmony 
of the universe. 

This deity was regarded with a much greater degree 
of veneration in Rome under the appellation of Mars, or 
Ma'vors. Among the earliest Italian tribes he was wor- 
shiped as the god of spring triumphing over the powers 
of winter. 

As the god that strode with warlike step to the battle- 
field, he was called Gradi^vus (from gradus^ a step) ; it 
being popularly believed by the Romans that he marched 
before them to battle, and acted as their invisible pro- 
tector. 

The Romans regarded Mars as the father of Rom^ulus, 
and the founder and protector of their nation. He was 
said to have married Ne^rio, and from her the Claudian 
family derived the name of Ke^ro. 

Cam^pus Mar^tius (Field of Mars) was a field in which 
the Roman youth practised gymnastic and warlike exer- 
cises. 

The priests of Mars were twelve in number, and were 
called Sa^lii, or the dancers, because dancing in full ar- 
mor formed an important part in their peculiar cere- 
monial. It is said that one morning, when Ku^ma was 
imploring the protection of Jupiter for the newly -founded 
city of Rome, the god of heaven sent down an oblong 
brazen shield (anci^le). As it fell at the feet of the king, 
a voice was heard declaring that Rome should endure as 
long as this shield was preserved. In order to prevent 
its abstraction, ^^uma caused eleven more to be made ex- 
actly like it, and instituted for their protection the Salii, 
who were selected from the noblest families in Rome. 



72 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



Every year in the month of March, which was sacred 
to Mars, they bore the sacred shields in solemn proces- 
sion through the streets of Rome, executing warlike 
dances and chanting war-songs. 

Sacrifices were horses, rams, wolves, and dogs, also 
grass, because it grows in towns laid desolate by war. 
Human sacrifices were offered in the earliest ages. 

The assistance and protection of the god of war were 
always solemnly invoked before the departure of aEoman 
army for the field of battle. Any reverses of fortune 
were a^nbed to his anger. 

Representations. 

1. Seated m a chariot drawn by furious horses, called Flight 
and Terror ; sometimes accompanied by Eny^o, or Bello^na 
(goddess of the war-cry). 

2. As a youth of martial bearing, fully armed. 

3. As descending from the sky, resting one hand on a moun- 
tain-cliff, while the other holds a spear and buckler. 

Epithets. — Blood-stained, shield-borer, manslayer, town-de- 
stroyer, gold-helmed, brazen, people-rouser, impetuous. 

PAL^LAS ATHE^NE. 

Comparative Mythology. — Greek, PaFlas Athe'ne ; 
Romany Minerva ; Hinduy Ushas ; Egyptian, Neith. 

Athene was said to have been produced from the head 
of Zeus, which Hephaestus had been ordered to cleave 
open. The goddess of war, in full armor, sprung forth, 
while a great commotion both on sea and land announced 
the event to the world. She is also the goddess of wis- 
dom, and as such is the protectress of states ; all that 
their welfare requires in peace or war proceeds from her. 
Thus she appeaSj:s as goddess of peace as well as of war. 



PALLAS ATHENE. 



73 




It was she who first taught mankind to manage the 
horse, to build ships and chariots, and to use the rake 
and the plough. By later writers she is represented as 
the patroness of every branch of science, art, and manu- 
facture. 

Par^thenos (virgin) was one of Athene's names, whence 
the temple of Athens, where she was most religiously 
worshiped, was called the Par^thenon* (Virgin's Shrine). 

Aristotle calls Pallas Athene the moon. On the coins 
of Attica there was a moon as well as an owl and olive 
branch. It could scarcely have been from any other 
cause than that of her being regarded as the moon that 
the owl, whose broad, full eyes shine so brightly in the 

* The *^ El 'gin Marbles," now in the British Museum, are portions 
of the statues and reliefs of the Parthenon. 
7 



74 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



dark, was consecrated to her. The shield with the G-or^- 
gon's head on it seems to represent the full-orbed moon, 
and the title Glauco^pis (from the blueness of her eyes) 
is given to both Selene and Athene. 

The sacred olive-tree, which Athene had caused to 
grow at the time of her contest with Poseidon about 
naming the city of Athens, was shown in the temple of 
Ere€h^theus on the Acropolis,"^ and it possessed such a 
wonderful vitality that, when burned by the Persians, it 
immediately put forth a fresh shoot. 

Theseus gave political unity to the twelve towns of 
Attica, and established the general worship at Athens. 
The Athenee^a, which had been instituted by Erechtho'- 
nius (a serpent-legged son of Gaea and Hephsestus), were 
thereafter called Panathenee^a, and were celebrated 
every fifth year. Citizens from all parts of Attica as- 
sembled at Athens, bringing sacrifices consisting of oxen 
that had never been under the yoke, rams, cows, and 
lambs. The prizes in the athletic, musical, and literary 
contests were crowns of olive, and painted vases filled 
with oil made from the sacred olive-tree. 

The Panathena^ic Procession was world-renowned. Its 
object was to bear a newly-wrought peplos to the Erech- 
the/um t and place it upon the olive-wood statue of 
Athene, which was said to have fallen from heaven. 
The procession formed on the plains of Eleusis, and 
was composed of various classes of people, all crowned 
with flowers. The central object of this grand array 
was a ship moved automatically. It bore for a sail the 
sacred peplos, upon which young daughters of the no- 
blest families had embroidered in gold the triumphs of 
Athene. 



* The Acropolis was a fortified hill at Athens, entered through 
a magnificent temple-gate called the Propylse'a. 
■j- Erechthe'um, a temple north of the Parthenon. 



PALLAS ATHENE. 



75 



It was said that Athene wove her own robe and Hera's. 
On one occasion, Arach^ne, a mortal maiden, challenged 
the goddess to a trial of skill in weaving. Arachne's 
work was so perfect, that even Athene could find no 
fault with it ; but she tore it in pieces. Arachne, in de- 
spair, hung herself. Athene loosened the rope and saved 
her life, but the rope was changed into a cobweb, while 
Arachne became a spider. 

As Athene was one day bathing at the fount of Heli- 
con with -Char^iclo, one of her favorites, Tire 'sias, son 
of Chariclo, approached the fount to drink, and beheld 
the goddess. As it was a law of the Celestials that 
whoever saw one of them without permission should 
never look upon another object, Tiresias was struck with 
blindness. To alleviate his misfortune, Athene bestowed 
upon him the gift of prophecy, and decreed that he 
should live through seven generations. 

The Roman Minerva was early identified with the 
Greek Athene. In Rome, however, the warlike charac- 
ter of the goddess was merged in that of the peaceful 
inventress and patroness of the arts and sciences, and 
of all handiwork of women. 

The chief Roman festival in honor of Minerva was 
the Quinqua^trus Majo^res. It was held on the 19th of 
March, and was in later times extended to five days. 
It was especially observed by all those engaged in in- 
tellectual pursuits and artists. As Minerva was also 
the patroness of schools, the school-boys took part in 
the celebration. 

Representations. 

Goddess of just war, 1st, as offensive, with shield and brandished 
spear ; 2d, as victorious and peacefully ruling, with arm and aegis 
partially covered with drapery, while the shield rests on the 
ground. 

As the goddess that promoted domestic arts and progress, she is 
represented with a distaff and spindle. 



76 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



Epithets. — Blue-eyed or green-eyed, town-destroying, town- 
protecting, unwearied, invincible, people-rouser. She was called 
Hippe^a, because she taught mankind to manage the horse. 

HES^TIA. 

Comparative Mythology. — Gree^;, H^s'tia ; Roman, 
Ves'ta ; Egyptian, Anouka. 

Hestia was a daughter of Chronos and Rhea. She 
was the goddess of the hearth, of the fire on it, and of the 
family. The name Hestia indicates the fixed, steady po- 
sition of the hearth in the centre of the room in which 
the family assembled. 

The hearth possessed among the ancients a far higher 
significance than it does in modern life. It served not 
only for the preparation of meals, but was also esteemed 
the sacred altar of the house. There the images of the 
household gods were placed, and there the father, who 
was the priest of the famil}^ offered sacrifices on all im- 
portant occasions of domestic life, Ko offering was 
made in which Hestia had not her share. 

Each town had its Pryt^ane^um (public hall), where 
the pryt^anes, or elders, held their meetings. There the 
sacred fire burning on the public hearth was never 
allowed to die out. If at any time it went out, either from 
neglect or by accident, it was restored by fire obtained by 
rubbing pieces of wood together, or by kindling them 
with a burning glass. The fire of Hestia was a symbol 
of the life of the State. When a colony was sent out, 
the bond of union with the parent State was kept un- 
broken by a portion of the sacred fire being carried with 
the colonists, to be kept forever in their new home. 

The service of Yesta occupied a very important place 
in the public life of the Romans. Her most ancient 



HESTIA. 



77 



temple was situated opposite the Forum. It was built 
in a circle and was of moderate dimensions. The priest- 
esses, called Yestal Virgins, were six in number, and were 
chosen, between the ages of six and ten, from the noblest 
families in Rome. Their term of office was thirty years. 
During the first ten years they were initiated in their 
religious duties, during the second they performed them, 
and during the third they instructed novices. Their 
chief duty was to watch and feed the ever-burning 
flame, the extinction of which was regarded as a na- 
tional calamity of ominous import. Great honors and 
privileges were accorded to them. The best seats were 
reserved for their use at all public spectacles. If they 
met a criminal on his way to execution, they had the 
power to pardon him, provided it could be proved that 
the meeting was accidental. The Vestals were vowed 
to chastity, a violation of which was punished by the 
offender being buried alive. 

The Eoman festival Vesta^lia was celebrated on the 
9th of June, on which occasion the Eoman women made 
a pilgrimage, barefooted, to the temple of the goddess, 
and placed there offerings of food. 

The young of animals were sacrificed to Vesta, also 
tender shoots of plants, fruits, and libations of wine, 
water, and oil. 

Representations. 

In consequence of the dignity and sanctity of her character, 
Hestia was always represented as fully clothed, which may ac- 
count for the fact that the ancients had so few statues of the 
goddess. The best example which has been preserved is the 
Vesta Giustiniani, which belongs to the private collection of 
Prince Torlonia, of Rome. The goddess is represented as stand- 
ing, her right hand pressed against her side, while with her left 
she points towards heaven. 
7* 



78 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 




HEPH^S^TUS. 
Comparative Mythology. — Greek, Hephses'tus ; 
Roman, Vulcan, or Miirciber ; Egyptian, Pthah. 

Hephaestus, the god of fire, was a son of Zeus and 
Hera. According to one account, he was born lame, and 
his mother cast him from heaven into the sea. The 
Oceanides Eury'nome and The^tis tended him for nine 
years in a deep grotto of the sea, in return for which he 
made them many ornaments. Another story is that 
on the occasion of a quarrel between Zeus and Hera, 
Hephsestus assisted his mother, whereupon the angry 
god of heaven seized him by the foot and hurled him 
from Olympus. He fell for a whole day, and alighted at 
sundown on the isle of Lemnos. The inhabitants re- 
ceived him in their arms, but his leg was broken by the 
fall, and he remained lame in one foot. Grateful for the 
kindness of the Lemnians, he henceforth abode in their 
island. 



HEPHJESTUS. 



79 



" From morn 
To noon lie fell, from noon to dewy eve, 
A summer's day, and with the setting sun 
Dropped from the zenith, like a falling star, 
On Lemnos, the iEgean isle." 

Milton s ''Paradise Lost,'' Booh I. 

The same fundamental idea lies at the foundation of 
these legends, namely, that fire first came down from 
heaven in the form of lightning. He was worshiped by 
the Greeks as the god who had mastered the mighty ele- 
ment and compelled it to do grand service for man. 
Volcanoes were believed to be his workshops and the 
Cyclopes his workmen. 

It is said that the first work of Hephaestus was a throne 
of gold, with secret springs, which he presented to Hera. 
When seated, she found herself unable to move, and all 
the efibrts of the gods to extricate her were unavailing. 
Diony^sus induced Hephaestus to return to Olympus, 
where, after having released the queen of heaven from 
her undignified position, he became reconciled to his 
parents. He built for himself on Olympus a palace of 
gold. With the assistance of the Cyclopes, he forged 
for Zeus his thunderbolts. He constructed the palaces 
in which the gods resided, made the golden shoes with 
which they trod the air or water, built for them their 
wonderful chariots, and shod with brass the horses of 
celestial origin. He also made the tripods which moved 
automatically, and formed for Zeus the far-famed ^^gis. 
He also made various wonderful things for his favorites, 
or those of Zeus among men. Among these were the 
golden dogs which guarded the house of Alcin^oiis, king 
of the Phaea^cians, the brass-footed, fire-breathing bull 
which guarded the Golden Fleece. He formed for Mi^- 
nos. King of Crete, a brazen man named Ta^los, who 
compassed the island three times a day to guard it from 
invasion. He destroyed people by making himself red- 



80 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



hot in the fire, and then embracing them. Hephaestus 
also made the armor of A-ehil^les, that of ^ne^as, the 
shield of Her^aeles, a collar given to Hermione, and the 
sceptre of Agamemnon. 

Hephaestus was held in great esteem at Athens, also 
by the Greeks in Campania and Sicily. 

Aphrodite was said to be the wife of Hephaestus. This 
was probably intended to convey the idea that truly artis- 
tic works can be created only in harmony with beauty. 

The Romans called this god Yulcanus, or, according to 
its more ancient spelling, Yolcanus. They honored in 
him the blessings and beneficial action of fire. They 
also sought his protection against conflagrations. Under 
the influence of the Greek writers, the original and more 
common conception of the god gave place to the popular 
image of the smith-god, or Mulciber, who had his forges 
in ^tna, or on the Lipari Isles. 

The chief shrine of the god in Rome was the YoFcanal, 
which was not really a temple, but merely a covered fire- 
place. In the Campus Martins, however, was a tem- 
ple, where the festival of the Yulcanalia, or Yolcan- 
alia, was celebrated on the 23d of August. Sacrifices 
were calves and male pigs. The streets were illumina- 
ted, fires were kindled, and animals thrown into the flames 
as a sacrifice to Yulcan for security against conflagra- 
tions. 

Representations. 

Mature bearded raan, with short garment so arranged as to 
leave the right arm and shoulder free ; he wears a pointed cap, 
which is the badge of an artisan ; he holds a hammer and stands 
near an anvil or forge. Sometimes he appears just ready to 
strike with the hammer ; at others turning a thunderbolt, which 
an eagle beside him is waiting to carry to Zeus. 

As artificer of the gods, seated at work in his palatial workshop. 

Epithets. — Both-feet-lame, lame-foot, weak-ankled, feeble, 
renowned or bright artist, very-bright, wise. 



APHRODITE, 



81 




APHRODFTE. 



Comparative Mythology. — Greek, Aphrodi'te ; 
i?omaii, Venus ; Assyrian,l^\\'td^Y] Babylonian, Mylit'ta; 
Egyptian, Author ; Phoenician, Astar'te ; Jewish, Ash'- 
toreth. 

In the lUacl^ Aphrodite is represented as the daughter 
of Zeus and Dione, the goddess of moisture. This ac- 
count was replaced by another, that she was born of the 
foam of the sea, and first touched land on the island of 
Cyprus, which was henceforth sacred to her. She was 
probably a personification of the creative and generative 
forces of nature. Among the Greeks she was worshiped 
as the goddess of beauty and love. 

Aphrodite was the most beautiful of all the goddesses. 
She possessed a magic girdle called the cestus^ which was 
endowed with the power of inspiring affection for the 
wearer. Her usual attendants were the Ho'rse and 
Char^ites. 

Sometimes Ares, sometimes Hephaestus, was said to be 
her husband. The children of Ares and Aphrodite were 
Hermione, Eros, An^teros, De^mus, and Plio'bus. 

F 



82 



HAXD-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



The dove, swan, swallow, sparrow, the myrtle, and the 
rose were sacred to Aphrodite. 

The Yenus of Milo is now in the Louvre at Paris. It 
was found in the year 1820, on the Island of Milo, hence 
its name. It is noted for the dignified expression of the 
head. 

The Yenus de Medici is so caUed from its having been 
in the possession of the princes of that name in Eome 
when it first attracted attention, about two hundred years 
ago. There is a story that the artist was employed by 
pubUc authority to make a statue exhibiting the perfec- 
tion of female beaut}', and to aid him in his task, the 
most perfect forms the city (Athens) could supply were 
furnished him for models. It is .to this Thomson alludes 
in his " Summer." 

"So stands the statue that enchants the world; 
So bending tries to veil the matchless boast, 
The mingled beauties of exulting Greece." 

Greek festivals in her honor were called Aphrodisia. 
Sacrifices were goats and swine, with Ubations of wine, 
milk, and honey. 

'*The story of her love for the beautiful Ad5'nis is of 
Asiatic origin. The germ may be easily distinguished. 
It represents the decay of vegetation in autumn, and its 
resuscitation in spring. Adonis, whom Aphrodite ten- 
derly loved, was killed by a wild boar while hunting. 
Inconsolable at her loss. Aphrodite piteously entreated 
Father Zeus to restore his life. Zeus at length consented 
that Adonis should spend one-half of the year in the 
world of shadows, and the other in the upper world. 
Clearly, the monster that deprived Adonis of life is only 
a symbol of the frosty winter, before whose freezing blast 
all life in nature decays." — Seemann. 

The Koman Yenus (the Lovely One) was regarded by 
the earlier Italian tribes as the goddess of spring, for 



HORJE. 



83 



which reason April, the month of buds, was held sacred 
to her. Annual festivals, called Yenera^lia, were held 
in her honor. She was worshiped as Yenus CloacFna 
(the purifier). 

The surname of Libiti^na points to her as goddess 
of corpses. All the apparatus of funerals were kept in 
this temple, and her attendants were the public under- 
takers of the city." — Seemann, 

Julius Caesar erected a temple to Venus Gen^etrix, the 
goddess of wedlock. 

Representation. 

In the more ancient temples of this goddess in Cyprus, she was 
represented under the form of a rude, conical stone ; but the 
Grecian painters and sculptors vied with each other in forming 
her image the ideal of female beauty and attraction. 

Epithets. — Smile-loving, well-garlanded, golden, quick-wink- 
ing, well-tressed, care-dissolving, artful, gold-bridled, sea-born. 

HO^R-^^ (The Seasons.) 

The Hoarse were three beautiful maidens, daughters 
of Zeus and Themis. Their names were Eiino^mia (wise 
legislation), Di^ke, or Di^ce (justice), and Ire^ne (peace). 
The Greeks recognized only three seasons, nature being 
supposed to be wrapped in death or slumber during the 
cheerless and unproductive portion of the year which we 
call winter. 

The Horae were also the deities of the fast-fleeting 
hours. In this capacity they assisted every morning in 
yoking the celestial horses to the chariot of the sun^ 
which they help to unyoke when he sinks to rest. 

They were originally personifications of the clouds, and 
are described as opening and closing the gates of heaven^ 
and causing fruits and flowers to spring forth when they 



84 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



pour down upon them their refreshing and life-giving 
streams. They appeared as attendants upon Hera, Aph- 
rodite, Apollo, and the Muses. 

Representations. 

When they are depicted separately as personifications of the 
different seasons, the Hora representing spring appears laden 
with flowers, that of summer bears a sheaf of corn, whilst the 
personification of autumn has her hands filled with clusters of 
grapes and other fruits. 

Sometimes they appear as lovely girls dancing, and adorned 
with flowers, fruits, and garlands. 

€HARaTES. 
Comparative Mythology — Greek, €har'ites ; Ro- 
man, Gra'tise. 

The name Charites is derived from-Cha^ris, a term origi- 
nally applied to a personification of grace and beauty. 
They were the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, and 
were three in number, Euphros^yne, Agla^ia, and 
Thaira. 

They were believed to preside over those qualities 
which constitute grace, modesty, unconscious beauty, 
gentleness, purity, and eternal youth. Wherever joy or 
pleasure, grace and gayety reigned, they were supposed 
to be present. Music, eloquence, poetry and art, though 
the direct work of the Muses, received from the Graces 
additional refinement and beauty, for which reason they 
are always regarded as the friends of the Muses, with 
whom they resided on Mount Olympus. Their special 
function was to act, with the Seasons, as attendants upon 
Aphrodite, whom they adorned with wreaths of flowers. 

Temples and altars were everywhere erected in their 
honor, and people of all ages and ranks entreated their 



EROS, 



85 



favor. Incense was burned daily upon their altars, and 
at every banquet they were invoked, and a libation 
poured out to them. 

€harite^sia were festivals in honor of the Charites or 
Graces, in which athletic games, music, and dancing held 
prominent places. 

Representation. 

They are represented as beautiful, slender maidens in the full 
bloom of youth, with arms lovingly intertwined, and are either 
undraped, or wear a fleecy, transparent garment of an ethereal 
fabric. 




/ROS. 



Comparative Mjrbhology. — Greeh, E'ros; Roman, 
Cu'pid, or A'mor. 

Eros is apparently a personification of the principle 
of attraction, on which the coherence of the physical 
world depends. Eros, the divine spirit of Love, was said 
to have sprung forth from Chaos, and by his beneficent 
power to have reduced to harmony the shapeless ele- 
ments. This beautiful conception gradually faded away, 
and he was replaced by the mischief-loving little god of 
8 



86 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



love, the son of Ares and Aphrodite. His character- 
istic weapon is a golden bow, with which he shoots forth 
his arrows from secret lurking-places. Zeus himself is 
represented as unable to withstand his influence, an 
intimation that love is one of the most terrible and 
mighty forces of nature. 

An^teros was conceived by the imagination of the poets 
as the brother and companion of Eros. 

Eros was venerated not only as the god that kindles 
love between the sexes, but was also regarded as the 
author of love and friendship between youths and men. 
On this account his statue was generally placed in the 
gymnasia between those of Hermes and Heracles, and 
the Spartans sacrificed to him before battle, binding 
themselves to hold together faithfully in battle, and to 
stand by one another in the hour of need. 

This deity was termed by the Komans Amor, or Cupid, 
but this was in imitation of the Greek Eros. 

The rose was held specially sacred to him, for which 
reason he often appears crowned with roses.* 

The fiction of Cupid and Psy^-che (the soul) is an alle- 
gory perhaps intended for a representation of the mystic 
union between the divine love and the human sOul, and 
of the trials and purifications which the latter must 
undergo in order to be perfectly fitted for an enduring 
union with the divinity. 

Psyche was the daughter of a king, and was the 
youngest of three sisters. She was so beautiful that 
people neglected the worship of Aphrodite for that of 

*The rose was given by Cupid to Harpoc'rates, the god of 
silence, whence it is supposed originated the custom, which pre- 
vailed among the northern nations of Europe, of suspending a 
rose from the ceiling over the upper end of their tables when it 
was intended that the conversation which took place should be 
secret, and it was this custom that, undoubtedly, gave use to the 
common expression Under the Rose." 



EROS, 



87 



Psyche, and in revenge the goddess sent her son, Eros, 
to fill the heart of Psyche with love for some inferior 
being. When Eros saw the lovely maiden, his own heart 
was filled with love for her. In obedience to the oracle 
of Delphi, she was dressed as though for the grave, and 
conducted to the edge of a yawning precipice. The 
gentle Zeph^yrus transported her to a verdant meadow, 
in the midst of which stood a stately palace surrounded 
by groves and fountains. Here dwelt Eros, who wooed 
her in the softest accents, but warned her, as she valued 
his love, not to endeavor to behold him. For some time 
Psyche was obedient, but in the midst of her happiness 
she longed for the society of her sisters. In accordance 
with her desire, they were conducted by Zephyrus to 
her fairy-like abode. Jealous of her happiness, they 
wished to destroy it, so they persuaded Psyche that her 
husband was a monster, and gave her a dagger to use 
for the purpose of delivering herself from his power. 
The unhappy bride foolishly yielded to their influences, 
so one night she went with a lighted lamp to solve the 
mystery of her husband's appearance. She beheld the 
marvelous beauty of Eros, but while she was gazing a 
drop of oil from her lamp fell on the shoulder of the 
sleeping god ; he awoke, and fled from her. Then the 
penitent Psyche sought long and sorrowfully for him. 
After many disappointments they were reunited, and 
Zeus made her immortal.^ 

"But never more they met! since doubts and fears, 

Those phantom-shapes that haunt and blight the earth, 

Had come 'twixt her, a child of sin and tears, 
And that bright spirit of immortal birth ; 

Until her pining soul and weeping eyes 

Had learned to seek him only in the skies ; 

*The word Psyche signifies " butterfly," the emblem of the soul 
in ancient art. 



88 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



Till wings unto the weary heart were given, 
And she became Love's angel bride in heaven." 

T. K Hervey. 

Representation. 

Eros is represented as a lovely boy, with rounded limbs, and 
a merry, roguish expression. He has golden wings, and a quiver 
slung over his shoulder. This contained his magical and uner- 
ring arrows. In one hand he bears his golden bow, and in the 
other a torch. 

HYMEN^^US, OR HY^MEN. 

Hymenseus was a personification of the happiness of 
married life. By some authorities he is called a son of 
Apollo and the muse Urania. Others assert that he was 
a mortal, whose married life was so remarkably happy, 
that henceforth the name of Hymen became synonymous 
with conjugal felicity. He was invoked at all marriage 
festivities. 

PHCE^BUS APOL^LO. 

Comparative Mythology .— GVee^, Phoe'bus ApoFlo; 
Roman, Apollo ; Phoenician^ Reshiph-Mi'cal ; Egyptian, 
Ho'rus. 

Apollo was the son of Zeus and Leto. The island of 
Delos was his birthplace. He was the god of light, 
prophecy, archery, music, poetry, and of the arts and 
sciences. 

He represented, first, the great orb of day which illu- 
mines the world, and, secondly, the heavenly light which 
animates the soul of man. We find Apollo, in later 
times, completely identified with Helios. 



PHCEBUS APOLLO. 



89 




Soon after his birth he slew the giant Tit^yus and the 
serpent Py^thon, — the latter a monster that inhabited 
the valley near Delphi, and destroyed both men and 
cattle. These myths merely represent the conquering 
power exercised by the genial warmth of spring over 
the dark gloom of winter. He is also represented as a 
terrible god of death, sending virulent pestilences, and 
dealing out destruction to men and animals b}^ means 
of his unerring arrows. This may easily be explained. 
The rays of the sun do indeed put to flight the cold of 
winter, but, as their heat increases, they ultimately be- 
come the cause of disease and death. 

With the first beams of the light of the sun, all nature 
awakens to renewed life, and the woods re-echo with the 
songs of the birds. Hence, Apollo is the god of music. 
He is himself the musician among the Olympic gods. 

He attained his greatest importance among the 
8* 



90 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



Greeks as god of prophecy. His oracle of Delphi 
was in high repute all over the world. 

That which raised the whole moral tone of the Greek 
nation was the belief that he was the god that accepted 
repentance as an atonement for sin, who pardoned the 
contrite sinner, and who acted as the protector of those 
who, like Orestes, had committed a crime which re- 
quired long years of expiation. 

The Greeks celebrated the Pyth^ian games in honor of 
Apollo in the third year of every Olympiad. There 
were at these games sacrifices of cakes and frankincense, 
expiatory rites, purilications through sprinkling by laurel 
boughs. Sacred hymns were sung in honor of the god, 
and sacred dances were performed by choruses, who 
danced around a blazing altar. Athletic games and 
chariot races were instituted about 585 b. c, and mu- 
sical and literary competition held a high position in 
this festival. 

The most splendid temple of Apollo was at Delphi, 
which was considered the centre of the earth. The 
oracle was second only to that of Dodona. The priestess, 
or Pyth^oness, was seated upon a tripod over a chasm in 
the earth, whence issued a cold vapor, by aid of which, 
assisted sometimes by chewing leaves of laurel or by 
draughts of water from a sacred well, she was excited 
to a frenzy, which prepared her to receive the intima- 
tions of the will of deity. Priests trained in the oflSce 
listened to her utterances and expressed them in am- 
biguous verse. 

Soon after his victory over the Python, Apollo saw 
Eros bending his bow, and mocked at his efforts. Eros, 
to punish him, shot him in the heart with his golden 
arrow of love, and at the same time discharged his 
leaden arrow of aversion into that of Daph^ne, daughter 
of the river-god Peneus. Daphne fled from Apollo, and 
calling to her father for aid, she was transformed into a 



ORPHEUS. 



91 



laurel-bush. Apollo sorrowfully crowned his head with 
the leaves, and declared that, in memory of his love, it 
should henceforth remain ever green and be held sacred 
to him. 

''The story of Daphne indicates the love of the Sun 
for the Dawn, who flees at his approach, and at length, 
as he draws nearer to her, vanishes away." — Cox, 




OR^PHEUS. 



The renowned singer Or^pheus was the son of Apollo 
and the muse Calli^5pe. He was a poet, a teacher of the 
Orphic mysteries, and ^ great musician. The trees and 
rocks moved to the tones of his lyre. He married Eu- 
ryd^ice, and their life was full of happiness. But Eurydice, 
while fleeing from Aristse^us, was bitten in the foot by a 
venomous snake, and died of the wound. Her discon- 
solate husband determined to brave the horrors of the 
lower world to entreat Aides to restore her to him. He 
struck the chords of his lyre, and drew forth tones which 



92 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



softened the heart of the stern monarch of Erebus, and 
Eurydice was restored on condition that he should not 
look back upon her until they reached the upper world. 
They journeyed on through the gloomy regions of Erebus, 
and were about to pass the extreme limits, when Orpheus, 
to convince himself that his beloved wife was really 
behind him, looked back. The glance was fatal ; she 
was caught back, and vanished from his sight forever. 
He shunned all society, music was his sole companion. 
At last he was torn to pieces by some Thracian women 
who were performing the rites of Dionysus (Bacchus). 
His head was thrown into the river Hebrus, and, as it 
floated down the stream, the lips continued to murmur 
the name of Eurydice. 

Eurydice stung by a serpent means that the evening 
twilight dies out before the coming night. Eurydice lost 
on her return means the early light which appears in 
the morning, but is seen no more when the sun is 
risen." — Cox, 

Cassan^dra, a daughter of Pri^am, king of Troy, was 
beloved by Apollo. She promised to marry him if he 
would confer upon her the gift of prophecy ; but having 
received the boon, she refused to comply with the con- 
ditions upon which it had been granted. Unable to 
recall his gift, he rendered it useless by causing her pre- 
dictions to fail in gaining credence, so, although she 
always prophesied correctly, no one believed her. 

Apollo carried off Cyre^ne to that part of Libya after- 
wards named for her. Their son was Aristseus, who 
discovered the culture of the olive and the mode of man- 
aging bees. 

Apollo afterwards married Coro^nis. One day, his 
favorite bird, the raven, flew to him with the intelligence 
that his wife had transferred her affections to another. 
Apollo instantly destroyed her with one of his death- 
bringing darts. He repented when too late. He pun- 



ASCLEPIUS. 



93 



ished the raven for its garrulity by changing its color 
from white to black.* Coronis left an infant son named 
Ascle^pius (^sciila^pius), who was educated by the 
Centaur Chi^ron. He became a celebrated physician, 




^SCLE^PIUS ^Aeseula^pius). 

and was so skilful that he could restore the dead to life. 
Aides complained to Zeus, who killed Asclepius with 
one of his thunderbolts. Apollo was so exasperated 
that he killed the Cyclops who had forged it. For this 
offence he was banished from Olympus. Coming to 
earth, he for nine years served Adme^tus as a shepherd, 
and was treated by him with the utmost kindness. By 
the aid of Apollo, Admetus gained the hand of Alces^tis, 
daughter of Pelias. The exiled god obtained from the 
Fates the gift of immortality for Admetus, on condition 
that when his last hour approached some member of his 
family should be willing to die in his place. When the 



Read Saxe's How the Raven became Black." 



94 HAND BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



fatal time came, Alcestis took his place. But Her^acles 
(Hercules), happening to arrive at the house of Admetus, 
engaged and overcame death, and restored Alcestis to 
her family. 

Hyacin^thus was a beautiful youth beloved by Apollo. 
As the god and his favorite were one day playing with 
the discus, it rebounded, and killed the youth. Apollo 
changed him into a flower, called for him the Hyacinth. 

Cyparis'sus killed by accident one of Apollo's favorite 
stags. His grief so preyed on his mind that he gradually 
pined away, and died of a broken heart. He was trans- 
formed by the god into a cypress-tree. 

Apollo and Poseidon built for Laom^edon, king of Troy, 
the walls of the city. It was said that when Apollo 
grasped the chords of his lyre, the huge blocks of stone 
moved of their own accord, adjusting themselves into 
the places assigned for them. 

Mar'syas was a sa^tyr, who, having found the flute 
which Athene had thrown away in disgust, discovered 
that, having touched the lips of a goddess, it played 
most charmingly. He foolishly challenged Apollo to a 
musical contest. The god defeated the presumptuous 
mortal, flayed him while alive, and changed him into a 
river, which is still known by his name. 

King Mi^das had the bad taste to declare his prefer- 
ence for the music of PS;n, in a contest which that god 
had with Apollo. The insulted deity caused his ears to 
grow in length and shape like those of an ass. Midas 
endeavored to conceal the deformity, but he could not 
hide the secret from his barber, whom he bound to 
secrecy. This man found it so painful to keep the secret 
to himself, that he dug a hole in the ground and whis- 
pered into it, ''King Midas has the ears of an ass." 
Some reeds sprung up from the spot, and repeated the 
words whenever the wind blew. 

There was no sanctuary erected to Apollo in Eome 



ARTEMIS. 



95 



until B. c. 430, when the Eomans, to avert a plague, 
built a temple in his honor. His worship was especially 
exalted by the Emperor Augustus, who ascribed his 
victory at Actium to the assistance of the god. He 
accordingly erected a magnificent temple to Apollo on 
the Palatine. 

The Koman games in honor of Apollo were ApoUina^res 
Ludi and Ludi Sec^ulares, or Century games. 

Representations. 

Apollo is always represented as having a youthful appearance. 
He is crowned with laurel, and wears a pur;gle robe. The most 
beautiful and most celebrated of all the statues of Apollo is the 
*' Apollo Belvede^re," which was discovered in 1503, near Antium, 
and is now in the Vatican. It is a standing figure, in marble, 
more than seven feet high, nude, except for the cloak which 
is fastened around the neck and hangs over the extended left 
arm. It is supposed to represent the god in the moment when 
he has shot the arrow to destroy the monster. Python. The 
victorious divinity is in the act of stepping forward. The left 
arm, which seems to have held the bow, is outstretched, and the 
head is turned in the same direction. In attitude and propor- 
tion, the graceful majesty of the figure is unsurpassed. The 
effect is completed by the countenance, where, on the perfection 
of youthful godlike beauty, dwells the consciousness of trium- 
phant power. 

Epithets. — Crooked or bending (probably from the position 
of the archer when shooting), herding (as keeping the flocks and 
herds of the gods, or those of Admetus), silver-bowed, far- 
shooter, gold-sworded, unshorn-locked. 

AR^TEMIS. 

Comparative Mythology.— GVeeA;, Ar'temis; Ro- 
man, Dia'na ; Egyptian, Bubas'tis. 



96 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 




Artemis was worshiped by the Greeks under various ap- 
pellations. Thus she is known as the Arcadian, Ephesian, 
and Brauronian Artemis, and also as Selene-Artemis. 

The Arcadian Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and 
Leto, and twin-sister of Apollo. She was a moon-god- 
dess, and also presided over hunting. 

Artemis is the feminine counterpart of her brother, and, 
like him, though she deals out destruction and sudden 
death to men and animals, she is also able to alleviate 
suffering and cure diseases. She devoted herself to the 
chase. When it was ended, Artemis and her maidens 
loved to assemble in a shady grove or on the banks of a 
favorite stream, where they joined in song or the dance. 
The hind, dog, bear, and wild boar were sacred to her. 

The purity and chastity generally ascribed to^ Artemis 
may have their origin in the pure light of the moon in 
southern regions. As a virgin-goddess, Artemis was 
especially venerated by young maidens, who before mar- 
rying sacrificed their hair to her. 



ARTEMIS 



97 



The Ephesian Artemis, known to us as Diana of the 
Ephesians," was an ancient Asiatic divinity of Persian 
origin called Me^tra, whom the Greek colonists in Asia 
Minor identified with their own Artemis. There was a 
magnificent temple erected to this divinity at Ephesus. 
It was considered one of the seven wonders of the world. 

Artemis Or^thia was a dark and cruel deity to whom 
human sacrifices were offered in Laconia. Lycur^gus 
abolished this barbarous custom, but caused instead a 
number of boys to be cruelly whipped before the image 
of the goddess on the occasion of her annual festival. 
This is the same Artemis to whom Agamemnon was 
about to offer his daughter Iphigeni^a, previous to the 
departure of the Greeks for Troy. The Scythians in 
Tauris likewise had a goddess whom they propitiated 
with human sacrifices. This caused her to be confounded 
with Artemis Orthia, and the story arose that Iphigenia 
was conveyed by the goddess to Tauris, from which 
place she subsequently, assisted by her brother Orestes, 
brought the image of the goddess to Brauron in Attica. 
She was then known as the Brauronian Artemis. 

The most celebrated statue of this divinity is that 
known as the Diana of Versailles, now in the Louvre. 
In this statue the goddess appears in the act of rescuing 
a hunted deer from its pursuers, on whom she is turning 
with angry mien. One hand is laid protectingly on the 
head of the stag, whilst with the other she draws an 
arrow from the quiver which hangs over her shoulder. 

The famous hunter Actse^on, happening to see Ar- 
temis and her attendents bathing, imprudently ventured 
to approach. The goddess, incensed at his audacity, 
sprinkled him with water, and transformed him into a 
stag. His own dogs tore him in pieces. 

Ni^obe, being the mother of seven sons and seven 
daughters, proudly set herself above Leto, who had but 
two children. The goddess complained to Apollo and 
9 G 



98 



hand-book of mythology. 



Artemis, and soon all the children of Niobe lay slain by 
their arrows. Niobe, stiffening with grief, was turned 
into stone. 

" The beauty of the children of ^^'iobe is the beauty 
of clouds flushed with the light of the morning, which 
are scattered from before the face of the morning sun.' 
Her tears are the rain-drops which turn to ice on the 
mountain-summits, where men fancy they see her form 
hardened into stone." — Cox, 

The Diana of the Eomans was identified with the 
Greek Artemis. A temple was dedicated to her on the 
Aventine hill by Servius Tullius, who is said to have 
introduced the worship of this divinity into Eome. 

The ^i^emoralia, or Grove Festivals, were celebrated in 
her honor on the 13th of August. 

Representations. 

As Selene-Artemis, or the moon-goddess, she is always repre- 
sented as wearing a crescent on her forehead, whilst a flowing 
veil, bespangled with stars, reaches to her feet, and a long robe 
completely envelops her. 

As goddess of the chase she is represented as a youthful and 
slender maiden, taller than her attendant nymphs. She wears 
a short robe, and her feet are covered with buskins. She has a 
quiver of arrows slung over her shoulder, and carries a bow. 

Epithets. — Arrow-joying, gold-bridled, gold-shafted, deer- 
slaying, beast-marking, rushing, holy. 

HER^MES. 

Comparative Mytholo^. — Greeh, Hermes; Ro- 
man, Mercury ; Hindu, Sarameyas ; Egyptian yThdth (as 
god of letters and wisdom) Anubis (as conductor of 
souls to the lower world). 



HERMES. 



99 




Hermes was the son of Zeus and Ma^ia (one of the 
daughters of Atlas). He was the god that presided over 
commerce, eloquence, wrestling, thieving, and every- 
thing that required skill and ingenuity. He was mes- 
senger of Zeus, and conductor of souls to the under- 
world ; as the latter he was called Psychopom^pos. He 
was also god of the fertilizing rain. Later poets make 
him the inventor of the alphabet, and of the art of in- 
terpreting languages. 

He was born in a cavern in Mount Cyllene, in Arcadia. 
The story is that four hours after his birth he set forth 
to steal some of the cattle of the gods which fed in Pieria, 
at the foot of Mount Olympus, under the care of Apollo. 
At the door of the cavern he found a tortoise-shell, from 
which he formed the lyre.* Arriving in Pieria, he drove 
off fifty cows, and took them to Arcadia unseen by any 



* Read " The Finding of the Lyre:'— Lowell. 



100 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



but a man named Bat^tus. Apollo, pursuing, came to 
the cave of the nymph Maia, and threatened the babe 
severely if he did not restore the oxen. Hermes denied 
the charge, and pleaded his extreme j^outh as proof of 
his innocence. At last Apollo carried him to the throne 
of Zeus to have their quarrel decided. Zeus ordered 
Hermes to restore the cattle. When the divine shepherd 
heard the music of the lyre, the chords of which Hermes 
touched as if by chance, he was so entranced that he 
gladly offered his oxen in exchange for this new instru- 
ment, and promised to give Hermes full dominion over 
flocks and herds. The offer was accepted. Apollo also 
gave Hermes the Cadu^ceus, or golden wand. This wand 
was surmounted by wings. Wishing to prove the truth 
of the assertion made by Apollo, that it had the power 
of uniting all beings divided by hate, Hermes threw it 
down between two snakes which were fighting. They 
curled around the staff and remained ever after perma- 
nently attached to it. The wand typified power ; the 
wings, diligence ; the serpents, wisdom or prudence. 

The story of Hermes sprung from the varying actions 
of the wind, which he personified. He was simply air 
in motion, which in one hour may breathe as softly as a 
child in its cradle, and in the next may tear up for- 
ests in its rage. The music which he produced was 
the melody of the winds. The cows which he stole were 
the bright clouds driven across the heaven." — Cox, 

It was in his character of wind-god that Hermes was 
believed to bear away the souls of the dead. The ancients 
believed that the wind carried away the souls of the 
dead, and this superstition still prevails in some parts 
of Europe. 

As the patron of commerce, Hermes was supposed to 
be the promoter of intercourse between nations ; hence 
he is the god of travelers, over whose safety he presided, 
and he severely punished those that refused assistance 



HERMES. 



101 



to the lost or weary wayfarer. He was also guardian of 
streets and roads, and his statues, called Her^mse (pillars 
of stone surmounted by a head of Hermes), were placed 
at cross-roads and in streets. 

Zeus presented to Hermes a winged cap (Petasus) and 
winged shoes (Talaria). The wings were emblematic of 
the wings which language gives to the thoughts of men. 

"While Apollo represents the warm, genial sunshine, 
Hermes, as a power of nature, is the rain. Both ap- 
pear in the character of deities benevolent and propitious 
towards mankind, and this is probably the reason why 
Hermes and Apollo have so many features in common. 
Their chief difference lies in the fact that while Apollo, 
as god of light, represents the higher intelligence of the 
mind, Hermes represents the practical wisdom of this 
world. ' ' — Seemann, 

The sacrifices to Hermes were incense, honey, cakes, 
figs, young lambs, and goats. Tongues of animals were 
offered to him because the tongue is the organ of speech. 
Festivals were called Her^maea. 

Mercury was worshiped by the Eomans solely as god 
of trade. The guild of merchants regarded him as their 
tutelary deity, and offered sacrifices to him and his 
mother, Maia, on the Ides of May. 

In later tiines he was identified with the Greek Hermes. 

"Much must he toil who serves the Immortal Gods, 
And I, who am their herald, most of all. 
No rest have I, nor respite. I no sooner 
Unclasp the winged sandals from my feet, 
Than I again must clasp them, and depart 
Upon some foolish errand." — Longfellow. 

Representations. 

In his statues Hermes is represented as a beardless youth, 
with broad chest and graceful but muscular limbs. 
9* 



102 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



As messenger of the gods, he wears the Petasus and Talaria, 
and bears in his hand the Caduceus, or herald's staff. 

As god of eloquence, he is often represented with chains of 
gold hanging from his lips ; sometimes without arms, indicating 
that the power of speech can prevail over everything without 
the assistance of arms. 

As patron of merchants, he bears a purse in his hand. 

Epithets. — Argus-slayer, beneficent, kind, strong, powerful, 
performer, messenger, well-spying, gold-rodded, glorious. 




DfONY^SUS. 



Comparative Msrbhology. — Greek, Diony'sus; Ro- 
many Bac'chus, or Li'ber; Hindu, Schiva; Egyptian, 
Osi'ris. 

" Dionysus was called Bacchus both by the Greeks and 
Romans ; that is, noisy or riotous god. It was originally 
a mere surname, and does not occur until after the time 
of Herodotus . ' ' —Bwight, 

Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Sem^ele, and he 
was snatched by Zeus from the devouring flames in 
which his mother perished when Zeus appeared to her 
in all the splendor of his divine glory Hera had visited 



DIONYSUS. 



103 



Semele in the form of her nurse (Ber^5e), and had per- 
suaded her to request Zeus to appear to her in the 
full majesty of his divine form. He had sworn by the 
Styx to grant whatever she desired, so, as she refused 
to withdraw her foolish request, her death was the con- 
sequence. 

"The infant was given to Ino (the sister of Semele), 
afterwards to the nymphs of Ny^sa, to rear, and was 
finally educated in Lydia by Khea. After growing up 
amidst the solitude of the forest, and strengthening 
himself by his contests with wild beasts, he at length 
planted the vine. Both the god and his attendants soon 
became intoxicated with its juice, after which, crowned 
with wreaths of ivy, and accompanied by nymphs, 
sa^tyrs and fauns, he ranged the woods, which resounded 
with the cries of his inspired worshipers. The legend 
says that his education was then completed by Sile^nus, 
who is known as his foster-father. In company with 
him and the rest of his train, Dionysus then set forth to 
spread his worship and the cultivation of the vine among 
the nations of the earth. He did not confine himself to 
mere vine-planting, but proved a real benefactor of man- 
kind by founding cities, and by introducing more civil- 
ized manners and a more sociable mode of life among 
men. ' ' — Seemann, 

Seated in a chariot drawn by panthers, and accom- 
panied by thousands of enthusiastic followers, each car- 
rying a thyrsus (a stafi" entwined with vine-branches 
surmounted by a fir-cone), Dionysus made a triumphal • 
progress through Syria, Egypt, Arabia, and India. 

On his return to Thebes, he encountered great opposi- 
tion from Pen^theiis, who then governed the country. 
Aga^ve, the mother of the king, and her sisters, inspired 
with Bacchana'lian fury, had repaired to Mount Cithaeron 
in order to join the worshipers of the wine-god. Pen- 
theus resolved to see for himself the excesses of which 



104 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



he had heard such terrible reports, and he concealed 
himself behind a tree ; but the art of Dionysus making 
him appear as a wild beast, he was torn to pieces by his 
own mother and her two sisters. 

"The worship of Dionysus extended to every place 
where the vine was cultivated. He was regarded, by 
Greeks and Eomans alike, as the god of wine and of vine- 
yards. In his more extended meaning, he represents the 
blessings of autumn. It is he that causes the fruits 
to ripen ; he also dispenses to mankind the blessings 
of civilization. The forms of his worship that were 
attended with wild revels and extravagant demonstra- 
tions, were the result of Asiatic influences ; some of the 
expressions of its fury were loud music, frantic gestures, 
cutting of the flesh, and tearing in pieces the young 
of animals." — Seemann, 

"Dionysus was regarded as the patron of the drama, 
and at the state festival of the Diony^sia, which was 
celebrated with great pomp in the city of Athens, dra- 
matic entertainments took place in his honor, for which 
all the renowned Greek dramatists of antiquity composed 
their immortal tragedies and comedies." — Berens. 

The Greater Dionysia took place in March. An an- 
cient wooden statue of the god was carried through the 
streets by people dressed as satyrs, in commemoration 
of the removal of this statue from the Lense'on to 
Cerami^cus, which, according to an old legend, was once 
done by satyrs. 

The Lesser Dionysia occurred in the latter part of 
November or the beginning of December. A he-goat 
was first solemnly sacrificed to the god. The chief 
amusement of the young men was dancing on the leather 
bag. Out of the skin of the slaughtered goat was made 
a leather bag, which was inflated and smeared with oil ; 
the young men then attempted to dance on it. 

The tiger, lynx, panther, and dolphin were sacred to 



DIONYSUS. 



105 



Dionysus. His favorite plants were the vine and ivy. 
Goats were sacrificed to him because they were destruc- 
tive to vineyards. 

The most celebrated among the myths which testify to 
the wondrous power of Dionysus is the story of the pun- 
ishment of the Tyrrhe^nian pirates. Mistaking him for 
the son of a king, they carried him off and placed him on 
board their ship, in the hope of obtaining a large ransom. 
1^0 sooner, however, had they left the shore, than the 
cords with which the smiling boy was fastened fell off, 
and a fragrant stream of wine ran through the ship ; 
then suddenly a vine rose to the top-sail, the mast be- 
came entwined with ivy, and all the oars were cov- 
ered with vine-leaves. The god appeared as a lion ; 
terror seized the offenders, who leaped from the ship into 
the sea, where they were changed into dolphins. A fine 
representation of this scene still exists on the monument 
of Lysic^rates, at Athens. 

Dionysus found Ariad^ne, daughter of Mi^nos, king of 
Crete, on the isle of Kaxos, where she had been aban- 
doned by The^seus, and she became his wife. 

TheEomans had a divinity called Libber, who presided 
over vegetation, and was on this account identified with 
the Greek Dionysus, and worshiped under the name of 
Bacchus. His festival, called Libera^lia, was celebrated 
on the 17th of March. The chief object of this festival 
was to pray for the fertility of the vines. The voluptu- 
ous Bacchana^lia were afterwards introduced into Rome 
in imitation of the Greek orgies. 

Bruma^tia were festivals celebrated at Eome in honor 
of Bacchus about the month of December. They were 
first instituted by Romulus. 

Representations. 

In the Medici gallery at Florence is a fine statue of Bacchus 
by Michael Angelo. He is crowned with ivy and vine tendrils, 



106 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



and holds in his right hand a cnp, and in his left a cluster of 
grapes, of which a little satyr is endeavoring to take a taste. 

In earlier art he was generally depicted as majestic and grave. 
In later art he became more youthful. The statues of this period 
are distinguished by the almost feminine expression of face. 
His soft hair, which falls about his shoulders in delicate ringlets, 
is generally intertwined with a garland of vine-leaves, or ivy. 

Epithets. — Dionysus was called Dithyram^bos, from the odes 
of that name, or from a story of his double birth ; he was also 
called Muse-leader, bull-headed, fire-born, dance-rouser, moun- 
tain-rover, sleep-giver. 




CALLI'OPE. CLI'O. MELPOM'ENE. 



MU^S/E (The Muses). 

''The parents of the nine Muses were Zeus and Mne- 
mos^yne (Memory). Pindar gives the following account 
of their origin: 'After the defeat of the Titans, the celes- 
tials besought Zeus to create some beings who might per- 
petuate in song the mighty deeds of the gods. It was 
in answer to this prayer that the Muses were created. 
Tliey sing of the past, present, and future, while Apollo's 
lute accompanies their sweet strains, which gladden the 



107 



hearts of the gods as they sit assembled in the lofty palace 
of Father Zeus, on Mount Olympus. ' Looked at in con- 
nection with nature, there is little doubt but that the 




EUTER'PE. ER'ATO. TERPSICH'OtlE. 



Muses were originally nymphs of the fountains. The 
veneration of the Muses first arose in Pieria, a district 




URA'NIA. THALrA. POLYHYM'NIA. 



on the eastern declivity of Mount Olympus, in Thessaly, 
from whose steep and rocky heights a number of sweet 
rippling brooks descend to the plains. The perception 



108 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



of this natural music led to a belief in the existence of 
such song-loving goddesses. Originally, the Muses were 
only goddesses of song, though they are sometimes repre- 
sented on vases holding musical instruments. In early 
times, too, they appeared only as a chorus, or company ; 
but at a later period a separate function was assigned to 
each of them." — Seemann, 

''The Muses were honored alike by mortals and im- 
mortals. On Olympus, where Apollo acted as their 
leader, no festivity was considered complete without 
their joy-inspiring presence ; and on earth no social 
gathering was celebrated without libations being poured 
out to them. ISTo task involving intellectual effort was 
undertaken without supplicating their assistance." — 
Berens, 

The mountains Pindus, Hehcon, and Parnassus were 
the favorite haunts of the Muses. They received appel- 
lations from hills and fountains that were sacred to them. 
They were called Pier^ides from Mount Pieria, Libeth^- 
rides from the fount Libethron, Agamp^pides from the 
fount Aganippe, Castarides from that of Castalia. 

The Romans venerated a number of fountain-nymphs 
under the name of Came^nse. The Roman writers seem 
to have identified these goddesses with the Muses at 
pleasure. 

The daughters of Pie^rus, King of ^mathia, challenged 
the Muses to a contest in music. They were defeated, 
and changed into magpies by the indignant goddesses. 

Tham^yris was struck blind and deprived of the power 
of song for the same offence. 

CallFope was the Muse of epic poetry. She holds in 
her hand a roll of parchment or a trumpet. 

OWo was the Muse of history. She holds a half-opened 
scroll. 

Melpom^ene was the Muse of tragedy. She leans on 
a club and holds a tragic mask. 



PEGASUS. 



109 



Euter^pe was the Muse of lyric poetry. She holds in 
her hand a double flute. 

Er^at5 was the Muse of hymeneal songs and love- 
poetry. She plays on a nine-stringed lyre. 

Terpsi-eh^ore was the Muse of choral dance and song. 
She appears dancing and holding a seven-stringed lyre. 

Ura^nia was the Muse of astronomy. She holds in 
one hand a globe, and in the other a wand. 

ThalFa was the Muse of comedy. She carries in her 
right hand a shepherd's crook, and has a comic mask 
beside her. 

Polyhym^nia was the Muse of eloquence and of sacred 
hymns. She is always represented in a thoughtful atti- 
tude, and entirely enveloped in drapery. She is crowned 
with a wreath of laurel. 

THE SPRENS. 

The Sirens were personifications of the numerous rocks 
and unseen dangers which abound on the sea-coast. 
They were gifted with such melodious voices that mari- 
ners were lured to shipwreck and destruction by their 
songs. 

The Sirens once entered into a contest with the Muses. 
The songs of the latter were loyal and true, whilst those 
of the former were false and deceptive. The Muses 
easily gained the victory, and they punished their rivals 
by plucking the feathers from their wings and wearing 
them on their own heads as a sign of superiority. 

oO^i^o 

PEG^ASUS. 

"Peg^asuswas a beautiful winged horse that sprung 
from the body of Medu^sa when she was slain by Per^seus. 
10 



110 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



He was employed by Zeus to carry his thunder and light- 
ning. The later poets represent Pegasus as being at the 
service of the Muses. He seems to represent that poetical 
inspiration which tends to develop man's higher nature, 
and causes the mind to soar heavenwards. 

It is said that during their contest with the Pierides 
the Muses played and sung on the summit of Mount 
Helicon with such power and sweetness that heaven and 
earth stood still to listen, whilst the mountain raised 
itself in joyous ecstasy towards the abode of the celestial 
gods. Poseidon, seeing his special function thus inter- 
fered with, sent Pegasus to check the boldness of the 
mountain in daring to move without his permission. 
When Pegasus reached the summit he stamped the 
ground with his hoofs, and out gushed the waters of 
Hippocre^ne, afterwards so renowned as the sacred fount 
from which the Muses quaffed their richest draughts of 
inspiration." — Berens, 

THE NYMPHS. 

" The iTymphs were the presiding deities of the woods, 
grottoes, streams, meadows, etc. They personified the 
restless activity and energy of nature. They were sup- 
posed to be tender, graceful maidens, who avoided human 
habitations and preferred the peaceful solitude of the 
woods and the mountains, where they led a merry, joy- 
ous life." — Seemann. 

The water-nymphs comprised the Ocean^ides, Kere^- 
ides, and J^a^iades. 

"The Oceanides were the daughters of Oceauus and 
Tethys, and were believed to be endowed with the gift 
of prophecy. They were personifications of the vapor- 
like exhalations which, in warm climates, are emitted 
from the sea, more especially at sunset. They were 



THE NYMPHS. 



Ill 



represented as misty, shadowy beings, with graceful, 
swaying forms, and robed in blue gauze-like fabrics." — 
Berens, 

The ^^'ereides were the daughters of i^'ereus and Doris, 
and were nymphs of the Mediterranean Sea. 

The best known of the Nereides were Amphitrite, the 
wife of Poseidon ; The^tis, the mother of Achilles ; and 
GS-late^a, who was beloved by the huge Cyclops Poly- 
phe^mus. 

The Na^iades were the nymphs of fresh-water springs, 
lakes, brooks, rivers, etc. Like all the nymphs, they 
possessed the gift of prophecy, for which reason many of 
the springs and fountains over which they presided were 
believed to inspire mortals who drank of their waters 
with the power of foretelling future events. 

The Na^paeae were the nymphs of the valleys and glens, 
who appear in the train of Artemis. 

The Grenades, or mountain-nymphs, who were the 
constant companions of Artemis, were represented as 
tall, graceful maidens, attired as huntresses. They re- 
ceived special names from the particular mountains or 
districts which they inhabited. The most celebrated 
among them was the Boeotian nymph Echo. She loved 
the beautiful youth Karcis^sus ; and, finding that he did 
not reciprocate her affection, she pined away until she 
became nothing but bones and voice — the former the 
gods turned into stones ; the latter may still be heard 
among the hills. Aphrodite avenged this injury on ^Tar- 
cissus. As he was one day hunting on Mount Helicon, 
he bent down to quench his thirst from a spring clear as 
crystal, and the goddess caused him to fall in love with 
his own shadow, which was reflected in the water. The 
object of his desires being unattainable, he, too, pined 
away from grief ; and the flower named for him has ever 
since continued an emblem of heartless beauty. 

The LimonFades haunted the meadows ; the Meli^ades 



112 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



watched over flocks of sheep ; the LimnFades frequented 
the lakes and pools. 

The Dry^ades, or Hamadryades, or wood-nymphs, were 
believed to be born with the trees, and to perish when 
they were destroyed. 

Sacrifices to the nymphs were goats, lambs, milk, and 
oil. 



Fris, the daughter of Thau^mas (Wonder) and Elec^tra 
(Brightness), personified the rainbow, and was the mes- 
senger of Hera. 

''Most primitive nations have regarded the rainbow 
as a bridge of communication between heaven and earth ; 
and this is doubtless the reason why Iris, who represented 
that beautiful phenomenon of nature, was invested by 
the Greeks with the office of communicating between 
gods and men. 

Iris is represented as a slender maiden of great 
beauty, robed in an airy fabric of variegated hues ; her 
sandals are bright as burnished silver ; she has golden 




FRIS (The Rainbow). 



HEBE, 



113 



wings ; and wherever she appears, a, radiance of light 
pervades the air." — Berens, 




HE^BE (Juven^tas). 



He^be was the daughter of Zeus and Hera, and she 
represented the youthful bloom of nature. 

Hebe was cup-bearer to the gods. In consequence of 
having slipped while serving them, she was deprived of 
her office, which was then assigned to Ganyme^des. 

After the deification of Heracles, Hebe became his 
wife. She is represented pouring nectar from an up- 
raised vessel, or bearing in her hand a shallow dish 
supposed to contain ambrosia. 

Juven^tas is the corresponding deity of the Eomans, 
but they honored in her the unfading vigor of the State. 
She had a separate chapel in the temple of Jupiter 
Capitolinus. 

10^ H 



114 HAKD'BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



Ni^KE (Victoria). 



Hrke, the goddess of victory, was a personification of 
the invincible power exercised by Zeus by means of light- 
ning. In ancient sculpture she is usually represented in 
connection with the colossal statues of Zeus and Athene, 
in which case she is life-sized, and stands on a ball held 
in the open palm of the deity she accompanies. 

A celebrated temple was erected to this divinity on 
the Acropolis, at Athens, which is still to be seen, and is 
in excellent preservation. 

Far more extensive was the worship of this goddess at 
Rome under the name of Victoria. Her chief shrine was 
on the Capitol, where successful generals erected statues 
of the goddess in remembrance of their exploits. The 
most magnificent of these statues was the one erected by 
Augustus after his victory at Actium. The festival of 
this goddess took place on the 12th of April. 



G^-n^me^des was a son of Tros, king of Troy. He was 
made immortal by Zeus, and installed as cup-bearer to 
the gods. It was said that Zeus had observed him 
drawing water from a well on Mount Ida, and, struck 




GANYME^DES. 



KEMESIS, 



115 



with his wonderful beauty, had sent his eagle to trans- 
port him to Olympus. 

MO^MUS. 

Mo^mus was the son of Nyx. He was the god of wit 
and ridicule, and was very unpopular. His comment 
upon the man made by Prometheus was, that the new 
being should have had a window in his breast, that 
his thoughts might be seen. A house which Athene 
constructed did not please Momus because it was not 
movable, and, therefore, could not be taken from a bad 
neighborhood. Momus tried in vain to detect some 
imperfection in the beauty of Aphrodite, but, failing to 
do this, he sneeringly said that she made too much noise 
with her feet when walking. 

It is said that, in consequence of his unlovely and 
unjust spirit, Momus was banished from Olympus. 

This god was represented as holding a small figure in 
his hand, and raising a mask from his face. 

NEM^ESIS. 

Nem^esis, a daughter of Kyx, was regarded as a god- 
dess of equality, who sees that happiness and misfortune 
are allotted to man according to merit. Eventually, she 
was regarded only as the avenging goddess. 

She is represented as a beautiful woman, wearing a 
diadem, and bearing in her hand a rudder, balance, and 
cubit. She is also sometimes seen with a wheel, to sym- 
bolize the rapidity with which she executes justice. As 
the avenger of crimes, she appears with wings, bearing 
in her hand a scourge, or a sword, and seated in a chariot 
drawn by griffins. . , 



116 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



TY^CHE (Fortu^na). 

Ty^^he personified the fluctuations of fortune. She ^Yas 
worshiped by the Komans under the name of Fortu^na. 
Ser^vius Tullius erected a temple to her, and made the 
24th of June the time for her festival. 

The Eomans honored a deity called Felicitas as the 
goddess of positive good fortune. 

These deities were termed by the Greeks " daemones," 
and by the Eomans " genii." They were believed to be 
the invisible counselors of every individual, accompany- 
ing him from birth to death with advice and comfort. 
Oflferings of wine, cake, incense, and garlands were made 
to them, particularly on birthdays. 




JA^NUS. 



Among the most important gods of the Komans was 
the celebrated Ja^nus, a deity unknown to the Greeks. 
In his original character, he was probably a god of the 
light and sun. 



FLORA, 



117 



Janus was believed to begin the new year, whose first 
month, January, was called for him and dedicated to 
him. Kew-Year's day was the most important festival 
of this god ; the houses and doors were adorned with 
garlands and laurel boughs. Relatives and friends ex- 
changed presents and good wishes for the coming year. 
The god himself received offerings of cake, wine, and 
incense, and his statue was adorned with fresh laurel 
boughs. This offering was repeated on the first day of 
every month, because he was believed to open every 
month. In the same way Janus was believed to begin 
every new day, and was called Matuti^nus Palter. He 
appears also as the door-keeper of heaven, whose gates 
he opened in the morning and closed in the evening. 
He was regarded, also, as the presiding deity over ah 
gates, entrances, etc., on earth. In this character he 
was the protecting deity of the home, for which reason 
little shrines were erected to him over the doors of houses. 

Janus possessed no temples. His shrines consisted of 
gateways in common places of resort, and at cross-roads, 
or of arched passages, in which the image of the god was 
erected. The "Temple of Janus," near the Forum, was 
a sanctuary of this kind, closed with doors, which were 
open only in time of war. 

Janus is always represented with two faces. As door- 
keeper of heaven, he carries a key in one hand and a 
staff in the other. 

FLO^RA. 

rio^ra was the goddess of flowers. Her festival, Flo- 
ria^lia, was celebrated from April 28th until May 1st. 
The doors of the houses were adorned with flowers, and 
wreaths were worn in the hair. 

She is represented as a beautiful girl crowned with 
flowers. 



118 



hand-book of mythology. 



POMO^NA. 

Pomo'na was the goddess of orchards and fruit-trees. 
It is said that she was wooed in vain by all the rural 
deities. At length Yertum^nus took the form of an old 
woman, and, representing the advantages of the married 
life, he produced such a change in her sentiments that, 
when he resumed his own form, she married him. 

She is represented as a lovely maiden laden with 
branches of fruit-trees. 

VERTUM^NUS, 

Vertiim^nus, whose name is derived from verto, to 
change., was the god of garden and field produce. He 
personified the change of seasons and that process of 
transformation in nature by means of which the leaf-buds 
become developed into blossoms and the blossoms into 
fruit. 

He is generally represented crowned with wheat- 
sheaves, and bearing in his hand a cornucopia. 

TER^MINUS. 

Ter^minus was the god who presided over boundaries. 
All landmarks were held sacred to him, and their erec- 
tion was attended with religious ceremonies. 

His festival, the Termina^lia, was annually celebrated 
on the 23d of February. The proprietors of lands bor- 
dering on each other crowned the boundary-stone with 
garlands, and made an ofiering of a flat cake. 

SILVA^NUS. 

Silva^nus was god of the forest. His sacrifices con- 
sisted of milk, meat, wine, grapes, wheat-ears, and pigs* 



PENATES. 



119 



He is represented as an old man scattering flowers, and 
usually bears in his hand a pruning-knife. 

PA^LES. 

Paries was the ancient pastoral goddess of the Italian 
tribes, from whom the name Palatine — which originally 
meant a pastoral colony — was derived. 

Her festivals, the Pali^lia, were celebrated on the 21st 
of April. The offerings were cake and milk. During 
this festival, it was customary for shepherds to ignite a 
mass of straw, through which they rushed with their 
flocks, believing that they could thus purify themselves 
from their sins. 

*o>«<oo- 

MA^NES. 

The Ma^nes were the spirits of the departed, and were 
of two kinds, the La^res and Larvae, or Lem^ures. 

The Lares were supposed to be the glorified spirits of 
ancestors, who exercised after death a protecting power 
over the prosperity of the family. Their statues stood 
on the hearth. They received their share at every meal„ 
and were crowned with garlands on every occasion of 
family rejoicing. 

The Lemures were those Manes that haunted theiir 
former abodes on earth as evil spirits* 

PENA^TES. 

The Pena^tes were the guardians of the household, 
and were selected by each family or its individual mem- 
bers. Various causes led to the selection of certain 
deities as special patrons. Small images of them were 



120 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



placed around the hearth, and honors similar to those 
paid to the Lares were accorded to them. 

NE^REUS. 

[N'e^reus was a personification of the sea in its quiet, 
placid moods. He was represented as a kindly, benevo- 
lent old man, the good spirit of the ^gean Sea, where 
he and his wife, Do'ris, dwelt with their fifty daughters, 
the ITereides. 

^^"ereus possessed the gift of prophecy, and was ever 
ready to assist distressed mariners. 

PRO^TEUS. 

Pro^teus was called by some a son, by others a servant, 
of Poseidon. He was familiarly known as "The Old 
Man of the Sea. " His oflSce was to tend the seals, or sea 
calves. He had the power of foretelling future events, 
and could assume any form at pleasure, changing himself 
into fire or water, plant or animal. Sometimes, when 
consulted, he evaded an answer by a sudden metamor- 
phosis. To those only who held him fast did he appear 
in his real character. He became wearied, and resuming 
his true form, gave the desired information. 



GLAU^CUS. 

Glau^cus was said to have been originally a fisherman. 
One day, he saw the fish which he had caught and thrown 
on the grass bite it, and instantly jump back into the 
water. His curiosity was excited, and he tasted a few 
blades of the grass. Ko sooner was this done, than he 
precipitated himself into the sea. Oceanus and Tethys 



THE WTNDS. 



121 



cleansed him from all his human impurities, and gave 
him a place among the sea-gods. 

THAU^MAS, PHOR^CYS, AND CE^TO. 

Thau^mas typified the wonders of the sea. He and 
Elec^tra (whose name signifies the sparkling light pro- 
duced by electricity) were the parents of Iris and the 
Harpies. The latter personified the storm-winds. They 
were winged creatures, having the faces of maidens and 
the bodies of birds. They were continually tormented 
with an insatiable hunger. 

Phor^cys and Ce'to, the brother and sister of Thaumas, 
personified the sea in its terrible aspect. They were the 
parents of the Gor^gons, the Grae^se and the dragon 
which, with the Hesper^ides, guarded the golden apples. 

CK5>@<CH> 

THE WINDS. 

According to the oldest accounts, ^o'lus was a king 
of the ^o^lian Islands, to whom Zeus gave the command 
of the winds, which he kept shut up in a deep cave, and 
which he freed at his pleasure or at the command of the 
gods. 

In later times the winds were regarded as distinct 
divinities, whose aspect accorded with the winds with 
which they were identified. 

The principal winds were Bo^reas (the north wind), 
Eii^rus (the east wind), Zeph^yrus (the west wind), and 
N^o^tus (the south wind). They were said to be the chil- 
dren of Eos and Astrseus. 

There was an altar erected at Athens in honor of 
Boreas, in commemoration of his having destroyed the 
Persian fleet sent to attack tlie Greeks. 
11 



122 



HAND BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



On the Acropolis, at Athens, there was a celebrated 
octagonal temple, built by Pericles, which was dedicated 
to the winds. The ruins of this temple are still to be 
seen. 




PAN. 



Pan was the god of fertility, and the special patron of 
shepherds and huntsmen. He presided over all rural 
occupations, was chief of the Satyrs, and of all rural 
divinities. 

He was the son of Hermes and an Arcadian nymph. 
He had horns sprouting from his forehead, beard and 
feet like a goat. At sight of him his mother tied in dis- 
may. Hermes wrapped him in a hare-skin and carried 
him to Olympus. The assembled gods wei^e much pleased 
with the curious little creature, and they bestowed upon 
him the name of Pan (all), because he had delighted 
them alh 



PAN. 



123 



Pan was regarded as the protector of shepherds and 
huntsmen, and the patron of fishing and bee-keeping. 
Mountain caves, in which flocks and herds were gathered 
together at night or in threatening weather, were held 
sacred to him. All sudden and unaccountable sounds, 
which startle travelers in lonely places, were attributed 
to Pan, hence the term panic to indicate sudden fear. 
The Athenians ascribed their victory at Marathon to the 
alarm which he created among the Persians by his terri- 
ble voice. 

Pan was gifted with the powers of prophecy, and he 
possessed an oracle in Arcadia, in which state he was 
more especially worshiped. 

The usual offerings to Pan were milk and honey. Cows, 
lambs, and rams were also offered to him. 

When Pan was wooing the nymph Pitys, Boreas, who 
was his rival, blew the nymph down from a rock and 
killed her. Pan changed her into a pine-tree. 

Professor Miiller explains that Boreas is the Greek for 
north wind, Pitys for pine-tree, and Pan, a deity rep- 
resenting the wind in its less destructive character. 
A Greek poet would tell his children of the wonders of 
the forest, and of poor Pitys, the pine-tree wooed by Pan, 
the gentle wind, and struck down by jealous Boreas, the 
north wind. 

As the nymph Sy^rinx was one day returning from the 
chase. Pan fell in love with her, and pursued her to the 
banks of the river Ladon, when, feeling escape impossible, 
she called on the gods for assistance. They transformed 
her into a reed just as Pan was about to seize her. While 
he was lamenting his unfortunate fate, the winds gently 
swayed the reeds and produced a low musical sound. 
Pan cut seven of them of unequal length, joined them 
together, and succeeded in producing the instrument 
called syrinx, or Pandean pipes. 

"Here mythology has simply inverted history^ and 



124 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



while, in an account of the invention of musical instru- 
ments, one should probably be told that the wind whist- 
ling through the river reeds led to the invention of the 
shepherd's pipe, the poet tells us that Pan, the wind, 
played with S^Tinx, and that she was changed into a 
reed.'- — 3£uUer, 

The Eomans had an old Italian deity called Faun^us, 
who, as the god of shepherds, was identified with the 
Greek Pan. He is called Luper^cus, or the one that wards 
off wolves. 

SILE^NUS. 

Sile^nus, a son of Pan, was the foster-father of Dio- 
nysus, whom he accompanied in his wanderings. He 
was generally intoxicated, and was rarely seen without 
his can in his hand. 

Some Phrygian shepherds once found Silenus when in 
a state of intoxication he had strayed from his com- 
panions. They took him to Mi^das, the king, who enter- 
tained him sumptuously for ten days, and then restored 
him to Dionysus. Pleased with his kindness, the god 
ofiered, as a reward, to grant Midas anything he desired. 
The foolish king requested that everything he touched 
might turn to gold. The gift was bestowed. Midas laid 
his hand on a stone, it became a mass of gold ; he touched 
the ears of corn, they ^vaved in golden lustre. When he 
sat down to eat, his teeth could not penetrate the golden 
bread, fish, fowl, wine, water — all was gold. In despair 
he acknowledged his error, and prayed to be relieved 
from the ruinous gift. Dionysus directed him to bathe 
in the river Pactolus, which has ever since washed down 
gold in its sands. 

Silenus is represented either as the preceptor of the 
youthful Dionysus, holding the child in his arms and re- 



PRIAPUS. 



125 



garding him with a look of affection, or as a somewhat 
elderly man, with blunt nose, bald head, and hairy body. 
He generally has a satyr on each side supporting his half- 
drunken form. 

THE SA^TYRS. 

The Sa^tyrs were inferior deities of the woods, and 
formed the attendant train of Dionysus. They were of 
a lively, frolicsome disposition, and were said to be bald, 
with short, sprouting horns, and goat-footed. They loved 
music and dancing, their instruments being the syrinx, 
flute, cymbals, and castanets. 

There are some fine antique statues of Satyrs in the 
art-collections of Munich and Kome. 

prTa^pus. 

Pria^pus, the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite, was the 
god of fruitfulness, the protector of flocks, bees, the fruit 
of the vine, and all garden produce. He was chiefly 
worshiped at Lampsacus, his birthplace. Asses were 
sacrificed to him, and he received the first-fruits of the 
fields and gardens, with a libation of milk and honey. 

His worship was introduced into Rome, with that of 
Aphrodite, and he was identified with a native Italian 
divinity named Mutunus. 

The statues of Priapus, which were set up in gardens 
and vineyards, served as scarecrows as well as objects 
of worship. They represented him as having a red and 
very ugly face, bearing in his hand a pruning-knife, and 
having his head crowned with a wreath of vine leaves 
and laurel. 
11* 



126 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



Public Worship of the Ancient 
Greeks and Romans. 

TEMPLES. 

In very early times the Greeks and Komans had no 
shrines nor sanctuaries devoted to public worship. Be- 
lieving that their divinities were enthroned above the 
clouds, they sought the highest available points, in order 
to place themselves in the closest communion possible 
with their gods. The more exalted the rank and impor- 
tance of the divinity invoked, the more elevated was the 
site selected for his or her worship. The inconvenience 
attending this mode of worship gradually suggested the 
idea of erecting edifices which would afford means of 
shelter from the inclemency of the weather. 

These structures were at first of the simplest form, 
and without decoration. As civilization progressed and 
wealth increased, temples were built and adorned with 
the greatest splendor ; talent, labor and wealth being 
lavished unsparingly on their erection and decoration. 
So massive were some of them that they have, to a 
great extent, withstood the ravages of time. The city 
of Athens contains numerous remains of these buildings 
of antiquity. On the Acropolis may still be seen the 
temple of Athene Polias, and that of The^seus. The 
latter is the best preserved ancient edifice in the world. 
On the island of Delos are to be seen the ruins of the 
temples of Apollo and Artemis in a wonderful state of 
preservation. These ruins are valuable because they 
are sufliciently complete to assist in the study of the 
plan and character of the original structure. 

The most ancient temples known to us served a double 
purpose ; they were not only consecrated to the service 
of the gods, but were at the same time monuments in 



TEMPLES, 



127 



honor of the dead. Thus, for instance, the temple of 
Pallas Athene, in the tower of the city of Larissa, served 
as the sepulchre of Acrisius, and the Acropolis at Athens 
received the ashes of Cecrops, founder of the city. 

A temple was frequently dedicated to two or more 
gods, and was always built in the manner considered 
most acceptable to the particular divinities to whom it 
was consecrated ; for just as trees, birds, and animals 
of every description were considered sacred to certain 
deities, so almost every god had a form of building pe- 
culiar to himself, which was deemed more acceptable to 
him than any other. Thus the Doric style of architec- 
ture was sacred to Zeus, Ares, and Heracles ; the Ionic 
to Apollo, Artemis, and Dionysus ; and the Corinthian 
to Hestia. 

In the porch of the temple stood a vessel of stone or 
brass containing holy water (which had been consecrated 
by putting into it a burning torch taken from the altar), 
with which all those admitted to take part in the sacri- 
fices were sprinkled. In the inmost recess of the sanc- 
tuary was the most holy place, into which none but the 
priests were permitted to enter. 

Temples in the country were usually surrounded by 
groves of trees. The solitude of these shady retreats 
tended to inspire the worshiper with awe and rever- 
ence. So general became the custom of building temples 
in groves, that all places devoted to sacred purposes, 
even where there were no trees, were called groves. 
That this habit must be of very remote antiquity is 
proved by the biblical injunction, having for its object 
the separation of the Jews from all idolatrous practices, 
''Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of trees near unto 
the altar of the Lord thy God." 



128 



hand-book of mythology. 



STATUES. 

The Greeks had no representations of their gods until 
the time of Cecrops. The most ancient representations 
consisted of square blocks of stone, upon which the name 
of the deity intended to be represented was engraved. 
The first attempts at sculpture were rude images with 
a head and a shapeless trunk tapering slightly to the 
feet, which, however, were not divided, the limbs being 
in no way defined. But the artists of later times de- 
voted all their genius to the successful production of 
the highest ideals of their gods. 

On a pedestal in the centre of the edifice, surrounded 
by images of other gods, stood the statue of the divinity 
to whom the temple was dedicated. 

ALTARS. 

The altar in a Greek temple was constructed of stone, 
of a circular form, and stood in front of the statue of 
the presiding deity. It was customary to engrave upon 
it the name or distinguishing symbol of the divinity to 
whom it was dedicated. If any malefactor fled to an 
altar, his life was safe from his pursuers, as to force him 
from this asylum was considered an act of sacrilege. 

The most ancient altars were adorned with horns, 
which were emblems of power and dignity, as wealth, 
and consequently importance, consisted in the pos- 
session of flocks and herds. Altars were frequently 
raised in groves, on highways, or in the market-places 
of cities. 

No altars were used in the service of the gods of the 
lower world, ditches ,or trenches being dug for the recep- 
tion of the blood of the sacrifices ofi'ered to them. 



SACRIFICES, 



129 



PRIESTS. 

The priests were recognized as a special social caste, 
and were distinguished not only by their sacerdotal 
vestments, but also by their piety, wisdom, and blame- 
less lives. They were the chosen mediators between gods 
and men, and offered prayers and sacrifices in the name 
of the people, whom they also instructed as to what vows, 
gifts, and offerings would be most acceptable to the gods. 
Every deity had a different order of priests consecrated 
to his worship, and in every place a high-priest. 

<x:r^oo 

SACRIFICES. 

Sacrifices were of various kinds. Free-will offerings 
were grateful acknowledgments for benefits received, 
and usually consisted of the first ■ fruits of the fields, or 
the finest of the flocks and herds ; these were required 
to be without blemish. Proxntiatory offerings were 
brought to appease the anger of the gods. 

Sacrifices were also made with a view of obtaining 
success in an enterprise about to be undertaken, or in 
fulfilment of a vow, or at the command of an oracle. 
Every sacrifice was accompanied by salt, and also by a 
libation, usually of wine. The cup was always filled to 
the brim, to indicate that the offering was made without 
stint. Libations to the deities of the lower world were 
of blood. 

The animals offered to the Otympian deities were 
white, those to the gods of the lower world were black. 
When a man offered a special sacrifice for himself or his 
family, it partook of the nature of his occupation ; thus 
a shepherd brought sheep ; a vine-grower, grapes. But 
in the case of public sacrifices, the supposed individuality 
of the deity was consulted. For instance, to Demeter a 

I 



130 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



sow was offered, because that animal is apt to root up 
the seed-corn ; to Dionysus, a goat, on account of its 
being destructive to vineyards. 

It was regarded as a contempt of the gods for a rich 
man to bring a mean offering, but from a poor man the 
smallest oblation was considered acceptable. 

When a sacrifice was to be offered, a fire was kindled 
on the altar ; wine and frankincense were poured into it 
to increase the flame. In very ancient times the victim 
was laid upon the altar and burned whole ; but after the 
time of Prometheus portions only were sacrificed, the 
remainder being the perquisites of the priests. 

The officiating priests wore crowns composed of the 
leaves of the tree sacred to the deity they invoked. This 
practice of wearing crowns was, at a later period, adopted 
by the general public at banquets and other festivities. 

On occasions of special solemnity the horns of the 
victim were overlaid with gold, and the altars decked 
with flowers and sacred herbs. A salt cake, the sacri- 
ficial knife, and the crowns were placed in a basket and 
carried to the sanctuary by a young maiden. The victim 
was conducted into the temple frequently to the accom- 
paniment of music. If a small animal, it was driven 
loose to the altar ; if a large one, it was led by a long 
trailing rope, to indicate that it was not an unwilling 
sacrifice. The priest, after walking round the altar, 
sprinkled it with a mixture of meal and holy water, 
after which he also sprinkled the worshipers, and ex- 
horted them to join with him in prayer. After tasting 
the libation, the priest poured the remainder between 
the horns of the victim ; frankincense was strewn upon 
the altar, and a portion of the meal and water poured 
upon the animal, which was then killed. If the victim 
escaped the stroke or became in any way restless, it was 
regarded as an evil omen ; if it expired without a struggle, 
it was considered auspicious. 



SOOTHSAYERS. 



131 



At the sacrifices to the aerial deities, music was added, 
whilst dances were performed round the altar, and 
sacred hymns sung. These hymns generally contained 
accounts of the famous actions of the gods, their clem- 
ency and beneficence, and the gifts conferred by them on 
mankind. In conclusion, the gods were invoked for a 
continuance of their favor. When the service was ended, 
a feast was held. 

ORACLES. 

Knowledge of the future was sought by the Greeks 
from the oracles, whose predictions were interpreted to 
the people by priests specially appointed for that pur- 
pose. One month in the year was set apart in which to 
consult the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. 

The following is an instance of the ambiguity of oracu- 
lar predictions : Croe^sus, the rich king of Lydia, before 
going to war with Cyrus, king of Persia, consulted an 
oracle as to the probable success of the expedition. The 
reply he received was, that if he crossed a certain river 
he would destroy a great empire. Interpreting the 
response as being favorable to his design, Crce^sus crossed 
the river and encountered the Persian king, by whom he 
was entirely defeated ; and his own empire being de- 
stroyed, the prediction of the oracle was said to have 
been fulfilled. 

SOOTHSAYERS (Augurs). 

In addition to the manifestation of the will of the gods 
by means of oracles, the Greeks also believed that cer- 
tain men, called soothsayers, were gifted with the power 
of foretelling future events from dreams, from observing 
the flight of birds, the entrails of sacrificed animals, and 
the direction of the flames and smoke from the altar. 



132 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



The Roman soothsayers were called augurs. No en- 
terprise was undertaken without consulting them with 
regard to its ultimate success. 

FESTIVALS. 

Festivals were instituted as seasons of rest, rejoicing, 
and thanksgiving, also as anniversaries to commemorate 
events of national importance. The most ancient fes- 
tivals were those held after the ingathering of the har- 
vest, or vintage, and were celebrated with rejoicings and 
merry-makings, which lasted several days. The first- 
fruits of the field were olfered to the gods, accompanied 
by prayers and thanksgiving. 

The festivals held in cities in honor of special divini- 
ties, or in commemoration of particular events, were 
conducted with elaborate ceremony. Gorgeous proces- 
sions, games, chariot races, etc., were conspicuous fea- 
tures on these occasions, and dramatic performances 
representing particular episodes in the lives of the gods 
and heroes frequently took place. 

The Creation and Primitive Con- 
dition OF Mankind. 

The legends concerning the origin of the human race 
differ very widel3^ The most ancient are those which 
describe men as having sprung from the earth. Men 
saw the tender plants force their way through the 
ground in the early spring after the frost of winter had 
disappeared, and so the}^ naturally concluded that man 
must also have issued from the earth in a similar 
manner. 



PRIMITIVE CONDITION OF MANKIND. 133 



Another tradition asserts that Prometheus, son of the 
Titan, Japetus, made men of clay and water, after which 
Athene breathed a soul into them. The gods met at 
Me-eo^ne, in order to adjust the privileges and duties of 
men. It was decided that Prometheus, as the advocate 
of man, should slay an ox and divide it into two parts, 
and that the gods should select one portion which in all 
future sacrifices should be set apart for them. In order 
to secure for man the portion suitable to be eaten, Pro- 
metheus wrapped the flesh in the skin, while he envel- 
oped the bones in the fair white fat. The animal thus 
divided was placed before Zeus that he might choose on 
the part of the gods. He pretended to be deceived, and 
chose the heap of bones, but he was so angry at the 
attempted deception that he avenged himself by refus- 
ing to mortals the gift of fire. 

Prometheus, however, resolved to brave the anger of . 
the ruler of Olympus. He stole some sparks from the 
chariot of the sun, and conveyed them to earth hidden 
in a hollow tube. 

Furious at having been outwitted, Zeus determined 
to be revenged first on mankind and then on Prome- 
theus. He ordered Hephaestus to make of clay a form 
resembling that of the goddesses, and to endow it with 
speech. Each god contributed something to perfect her, 
and she was called Pand5^ra (all-gifted). Hermes, the 
messenger of the gods, conducted her to the house of 
Epimetheus (brother of Prometheus), who gladly ac- 
cepted her, though warned by Prometheus to beware of 
Zeus and his gifts. 

Epimetheus had in his house a jar in which were kept 
all kinds of diseases and ills. Pandora removed the 
cover and these escaped, and men have ever since been 
tormented by disease and care. She closed the jar in 
time to prevent the escape of Hope. 

Another story is that Pandora brought with her a box 
12 



134 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



containing her marriage presents, into which each god 
had put some blessing. She opened the box incautiously 
and the blessings all escaped, Hope only excepted. This 
story seems more consistent than the former. 

''The idea that with the introduction of civilization 
many evils which were before unknown to man came 
into existence, is expressed in the myth of Pandora." — 
Seemann, 

Zeus executed vengeance on Prometheus by having 
him chained to a rock on Mount Caucasus, where dur- 
ing the daytime an eagle devoured his liver, which 
always grew again during the night. After thirteen 
generations had passed away, Heracles was permitted 
to kill the eagle and Prometheus was released. 

"Care and anxiety, the love of gain, and other evil 
passions that torment man, are personified in the eagle 
that fed on the inconsumable liver of Prometheus. " 

At the time of the Panathena^ic festival, in the even- 
ing, was a torch-race in honor of Prometheus. A torch, 
lighted at the altar of that deity, was passed from one 
competitor to another, and he who succeeded in longest 
preserving it lighted while he ran, was successful. 

^schylus wrote three tragedies on the subjects of the 
confinement, the release, and the worship of Prometheus 
at Athens. 

Ages of the World. 

In course of time temples were raised to the different 
gods, and priests were appointed to offer sacrifices to 
them, and to conduct their worship. These priests were 
looked upon as authorities in all religious matters, and 
the doctrine they taught was, that man had been created 
by the gods, and that there had been successive ages 
which were called Golden, Silver, Brazen, and Iron 
Ages. 



DEUCALION AND PHYRRHA. 135 



The Grolden race of men lived free from care and sor- 
row, while the earth spontaneously furnished them with 
all that was necessary to support life. Subject neither 
to the infirmities of age nor to the pangs of disease, men 
at last sunk peacefully to death. We are told that this 
race still continues to exist as good spirits who guard 
and protect mortals. 

After this the gods created a Silver race of men who 
were far inferior to their predecessors both in mind and 
body. They refused to pay the gods due honors, and 
Zeus destroyed them. 

The next was the Brazen race. They were of giant 
stature and great strength, and took pleasure in nothing 
but battle and strife. This race perished by each other's 
hands. 

The Iron race was last. The earth now yielded her 
increase only after much labor. The goddess of justice 
having abandoned mankind, no influence sufficiently 
powerful remained to preserve them from every kind of 
wickedness. Zeus, in his anger, drowned every one of 
this evil race except Deuca^lion and Pyr^rha. 

DEUCA^LION AND PYR^RHA. 

Deuca^lion, the son of Prometheus and Clym^ene, was 
married to Pyr^rha, the daughter of Epimetheus and 
Pandora, and reigned over the southern part of Thessaly 
at the time when Zeus resolved to destroy mankind by 
a flood. Warned by his father, he built an ark, into 
which he and his wife retired when the waters began to 
rise. Kine days and nights the ark was carried along by 
the waves ; at length it rested on Mount Parnassus. 
Deucalion and Pyrrha left the ark and offered a sacrifice 
to Zeus. 

When they saw the earth desolate and devoid of in- 



136 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



habitants, they were filled with sorrow. They repaired to 
an ancient oracle of the goddess Themis, hoping to ob- 
tain advice and consolation. On imj)loring the aid of 
the gods, they received the following response : 

" From the fane depart, 
And veil yonr heads, and loose your girded clothes, 
And cast behind yon yonr great parent's bones ! " 

They heard the words with astonishment. At length 
it occurred to Deucalion that it must be stones, which 
may be called the bones of the earth, the great parent of 
all, that were meant by the oracle. They therefore tlung 
stones behind their backs, — those cast by Deucalion be- 
came men, and those by Pyrrha became women. It was 
a hard race and well adapted to labor. The most distin- 
guished persons of the race which occupied Greece after 
the restoration of mankind by Deucalion and Pyrrha 
were called by posterity the Heroes. 



CEN^TAURS AND LAPaXH^. 

Cen'taurs and Laplthee are two mythic tribes which 
are always mentioned together. According to the an- 
cient fable, the Centaurs were part man and part horse. 




CADMUS. 



137 



The most renowned of the Centaurs was -Ghi^ron. He 
was famous for his wisdom and his knowledge of -medi- 
cine, and for being the preceptor of Ja^son, Ascle^pius 
(^sculapius), and Achilles. He was so superior to his 
savage kindred that he was reported to be a son of 
Chronos and Phirj^ra, one of the Oceanides. He in- 
habited a cave on Mount Pel ion, afterwards he removed 
to Male^a. Heracles accidentally wounded him with 
a poisoned arrow. He suffered extreme pain, and in 
answer to his prayer to Zeus for relief he was placed 
among the stars as the constellation Sagitta^rius. 

At the marriage of Pirith^ous, one of the Lap^ithae, 
and Hippodami^a, Euryt^ion, one of the Centaurs, be- 
coming intoxicated with wine, attempted to carry off 
the bride. A dreadful conflict arose in which several 
of the Centaurs were slain ; the others were driven from 
Thessaly. 

It is the opinion of Buttmann that the Centaurs and 
Lapithae are two purely poetic names used to designate 
two opposite races of men ; the former, the rude horse- 
riding tribes which tradition records to have been spread 
over the north of Greece ; the latter, the more civilized 
race which founded towns, and gradually drove their 
wild neighbors back into the mountains. He thinks the 
word Centaurs meant air-piercers^ as that idea is sug- 
gested by the figure of a Cossack leaning forward with 
his protruded lance as he gallops along. Lapithee, he 
considers, meant stone-persuaders^ a poetic appellation 
for the builders of towns. 

The Theban Legends. 

CAD^MUS. 

Zeus, under the form of a white bull, carried Europa, 
daughter of Age^nor, king of Tyre, away to Crete. 
12- 



138 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



Grieved for the loss of his only daughter, Agenor or- 
dered his sons Cad^mus, Phoe^nix, and Ci'lix to go in 
search of her, and not to return until they found her. 
They went, accompanied by their mother, Telephas^sa, 
and Tha^sos, a son of Poseidon. They could obtain no 
intelligence of Europa, and fearing to return without 
her, they resolved to settle in various countries. Phoenix 
established himself in Phoenicia^ Cilix in Cilicia, Thasos 
founded in Thrace a town, which he named for himself. 
Telephassa died, and Cadmus went to Delphi to consult 
the oracle about Europa. The answer was to cease search- 
ing for her, to follow a cow as his guide, and to build a 
city where she should lie down. On leaving the temple 
he passed through Phocis, and meeting a cow he followed 
her through Boeotia, until at length, on the site where 
Thebes afterwards stood, she looked towards heaven 
and, gently lowing, lay down. Grateful for this mark 
of divine favor, Cadmus decided to sacrifice the cow to 
Athene. He sent some of his companions to bring 
water from a neighboring spring, where they were slain 
by a dragon, sacred to Ares, which guarded the spring. 
Cadmus then went himself, and slew the dragon, whose 
teeth he sowed in the ground, according to the advice 
of Athene. There arose a band of armed men, at whom 
Cadmus flung stones. They turned their arms against 
each other and were all slain except five. These joined 
with Cadmus to build the city of Thebes. Their pos- 
terity were called the Spar^ti (the sown). 

For killing the sacred dragon, Cadmus was compelled 
to spend eight years in servitude to Ares. At the expi- 
ration of that time, the god of war became reconciled to 
Cadmus, and gave him his daughter Hermione, or Har- 
monia, in marriage. All the gods assembled in the palace 
of Cadmus to celebrate this marriage. He presented to 
the bride a magnificent robe, and a collar, the work of 
Hephaestus. According to tradition, Cadmus introduced 



(EDIPUS, 



139 



into Greece the letters of the alphabet, which were in- 
vented by the Phoenicians. 

The children of Cadmus and Hermione were Fno, 
Aga^ve, Auton^oe, Sem^ele, and a son named Polydo^rus. 
They were all persecuted by Hera. Semele, the mother 
of Dionysus, was consumed by the lightnings of Zeus. 
Agave became the mother of Pentheus, who opposed 
the worship of Dionysus, and was torn to pieces by his 
mother and other votaries of the god. Ino was perse- 
cuted by Hera for having taken care of Dionysus in his 
infancy. She was married to Ath^amas, who, seized by 
a sudden fury, dashed their son, Lear^^hus, against a 
rock. Ino fled with her younger son, Melicer^tes, to 
the verge of a rock, from which she sprung into the 
sea. The gods made them deities of the sea, Ino under 
the name of Leuco^'thea and Melicertes under that of 
Palse^mon. 

In consequence of the misfortunes of his family, 
Cadmus abandoned Thebes and retired to the country 
of the En-ehe^lians, in Illyria. He and his wife were 
finally changed into serpents and sent by Zeus to the 
Elysian Plain. 

ooX^o* 

CEDaPUS. 

La^ius, a great grandson of Cadmus, married Jocasta. 
He was told by the oracle that he was doomed to die by 
the hands of his son, who would then marry his mother. 
Accordingly, when their infant son was born, Laius ordered 
the child to be exposed on Mount Cithseron. The servant 
who was intrusted with this commission pierced the heels 
of the child, in order to recognize it if it should ever re- 
appear. The infant was found by Phor^bas, the herds- 
man of PoFybiis, king of Corinth. He took the babe to 
his master, who, being childless, adopted and named it 
(Ed^ipus (swollen-foot). When (Edipus had grown to 



140 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



manhood, a Corinthian noble taunted him at a banquet 
with not being the son of the king. He appealed to 
Mer'ope, his supposed mother, but she gave him an 
equivocal reply. He repaired to Delphi to consult the 
oracle, and was told to shun his native country, or he 
would slay his father and marry his mother. 

CEdipus resolved never to return to Corinth, believing 
that to be his native place, and took the way towards 
Thebes. In driving through a narrow pass, he met an 
old man, and a herald, driving in a chariot, and when he 
refused to make way for them, the herald killed one of 
his horses, which so exasperated (Edipus, that he killed 
both the strangers, and fled without discovering that one 
of them was Laius, king of Thebes. On his arrival at 
Thebes he found the people afflicted by the Sphinx,^ 
which had been sent by Hera to torment them. This 
monster had the face of a woman, the body of a lion, 
and the wings of a bird. 

Seated on a rock near the city, she proposed to every 
passer-by the riddle, " What animal is it that goes in the 
morning upon four feet, at noon upon two, and in the 
evening upon three?" Everyone who was unable to 
answer was hurled into the abyss. 

Creon, brother-in-law of Laius, had seized the govern- 
ment of Thebes, and when his son fell a victim to the 
Sphinx, he issued a proclamation that the kingdom, and 
the hand of his sister, Jocasta, should be awarded to him 
who should succeed in solving the riddle. Tempted by 
such a reward, (Edipus came forward and explained the 
riddle. ''Man, as a child, in the morning of life creeps 
upon hands and feet, at the noon-tide of life he walks on 
two feet, and in the evening, when old age has stolen 
upon him, he needs a staff for a support, and goes, as it 



* The Eg}^ptian Sphinx had the head of a man, the body of a 
lion, and had no wings. 



(EDTPUS, 



141 



were, upon three feet." Full of rage, the Sphinx pre- 
cipitated herself from the rock and perished. 

CEdipus received the promised reward, and for many 
years enjoyed great happiness and tranquilUty. The 
children of (Edipus and Jocasta were two sons, Ete^ocles 
and Polyni^ces, and two daughters, Antig^one and 
Isme^ne. 

At last Thebes was afflicted with a pestilence. (Edipus 
consulted an oracle, and the response was that the pesti- 
lence would continue to rage until the land was purified 
of the blood of king Lai us, whose murderer was living 
unpunished at Thebes. The king sent for the blind 
prophet Tire'sias, and implored him to reveal the author 
of the crime. Tiresias at first hesitated, but yielding to 
the earnest solicitations of (Edipus, he said : "Thou art 
the murderer of the old king, Laius, who was thy father, 
and thou art wedded to his widow, thine own mother." 
The old servant who had exposed the infant on Mount 
Citheeron, and the shepherd who had carried him to the 
king of Corinth, identified him. Horrified at this dread- 
ful revelation, (Edipus, in despair, deprived himself of 
sight, and the unfortunate Jocasta hanged herself. 

The Thebans banished (Edipus, and his sons refused to 
interfere in his behalf. Guided by his faithful daughter, 
Antigone, he wandered to the grove of the Eiimen^ides 
at Colonus, near Athens, and here his life terminated in 
a miraculous manner, — the ground opened and he dis- 
appeared. 

This legend has localized a number of phrases which 
described originally some phenomena of the outer world. 
There must have existed in ancient languages a large 
number of names for the sun, the sky, the dawn, and the 
earth. The sun ((Edipus) is the child of the darkness 
(Laius), and he is doomed to slay his father. He is also 
the child of the dawn (Jocasta), whose soft, violet hues 
tint the clouds of early morning. When the evening 



142 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



comes, these violet hues re-appear ; so (Edipus weds 
Jocasta. The tender Ught of evening is suddenly blotted 
out by the vapors, the light of the sun is quenched in 
gloom. In other words, Jocasta dies, and (Edipus tears 
out his eyes. 

''Antigone is the light which looks forth from the east 
when the sun sinks down in the west." — Max Miiller. 

THE THEBAN WARS. 

Ete^ocles and Polyni'ces succeeded their father in the 
government, agreeing to reign alternately one year at a 
time. Eteocles, being the elder, first ascended the throne, 
but at the expiration of the year he refused to resign it 
to his brother. 

Polynices sought the assistance of Adras^tus, king of 
Argos, who received him kindly, gave him his daughter 
in marriage, and promised to assist him in gaining the 
government of Tliebes. Adrastus invited the most 
powerful chiefs in his kingdom to join in the expedition. 
They all readily obeyed the call, with the exception of 
Amphiara^us, his brother-in-law, who, having the gift of 
prophecy, foresaw the disastrous termination of the war, 
and endeavored to prevent it. He concealed himself in 
a hiding-place, known only to his wife Eriphy^le, who 
was sister to Adrastus. On the occasion of the marriage 
of Amphiaraus, it had been agreed, that if he ever dif- 
fered in opinion with the king, his wife should decide the 
question. Polynices offered her the collar which had 
been presented to Harmonia, if she would induce her 
husband to join in the expedition. She accepted the 
bribe, and Amphiaraus was compelled to go with them. 
Before leaving his home, he extorted a promise from his 
son Alcm8e''on that, should he perish, he would avenge 
his death on Eriphyle. 



THE EPiGOm. 



143 



The leaders in this expedition were seven in number : 
Adrastus, Polynices, Tyd^eiis, Amphiaraus, Cap'aneus, 
Parthenopae^iis, and Hipponi^edon. To oppose each of 
these leaders, Eteocles placed within the walls one whom 
he regarded as his equal. The brothers were stationed 
against each other. 

A battle ensued equally fatal to both parties. Hip- 
pomedon and Parthenopseus fell under the swords of the 
enemy ; Capaneus, who had mounted the walls, was killed 
by a flash of lightning ; Tydeus fell by the hand of Me- 
lamp^pus ; Eteocles and Polynices killed each other in 
single combat ; Amphiaraus was swallowed up by the 
earth, and Adrastus owed his life to the swiftness of the 
steed Ari^on. 

Creon, who again became king, forbade the burial of 
Polynices, but Antigone gave sepulture to his remains, 
and Creon buried her alive. His son, who had been be- 
trothed to Antigone, in despair threw himself upon his 
own sword and expired. 

THE EPIG^ONI. 

Ten years after these_ events, the sons of the slain 
heroes, who were called Epig^oni (descendants), resolved 
to avenge the death of their fathers. By the advice 
of the Delphic oracle, the command was intrusted to 
Alcmseon, son of Amphiaraus, but, remembering the 
injunction of his father, he hesitated to accept the 
position before executing vengeance on his mother 
Eriphyle. Thersan^der, son of Polynices, presented to 
Eriphyle the robe of Harmonia, and yielding to her 
representations, Alcmseon accepted the command of the 
troops, and at the head of a large and powerful army 
advanced against Thebes. A fierce battle ensued, in 
which the Theban leader fell by his hand. The The- 



144 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



bans, unable longer to hold their city, followed the 
advice of Teresias, and withdrew under the cover of 
darkness. The aged Tiresias expired on the road. 
Kext morning the Argives entered Thebes, plundered 
it, and placed Thersan^der, son of Polj-nices, on the 
throne. 

Alcmseon consulted the oracle of Apollo, to know how 
he should punish his mother for her cupidity to his father 
and himself, and he was directed to put her to death. 
He obeyed, but was instantly assailed by the Erinnys. 
He roamed in madness through Arcadia, and was at 
length purified by Phe^geus, king of Pso^phis, who gave 
him his daughter Arsin^oe in marriage. He presented 
his bride with the robe and collar of Harmonia. A 
drought oppressed the land on his account, and the oracle 
directed him to go and build a town on the river Achelous. 
Alcmseon took leave of his wife and little son, and set 
forth. At the springs of the Achelous he was purified 
by the river-god himself, who gave him in marriage his 
daughter Callir'rhoe, and he built his town on the soil 
deposited by the stream at its mouth. Unfortunately, 
Callirrhoe had heard of the robe and collar of Harmonia, 
and she desired to possess them. Alcmseon returned to 
Arcadia, and telling Phegeus that he had sufiered from 
another attack of insanity, and that the oracle had in- 
formed him that his malady would be cured onh^ when 
he placed the robe and collar in the temple of Apollo at 
Delphi, he obtained them from Arsinoe. Alcmaeon's 
servant betrayed his secret, and the sons of Phegeus lay 
in ambush and killed him. 

Callirrhoe, on learning the fate of Alcmaeon, implored 
Zeus that her infant sons might grow at once to man- 
hood, and avenge the death of their father. Her prayer 
was granted. The youths met and slew the sons of 
Phegeus, and then went to Psophis and killed Phegeus 
and his wife. They brought the robe and collar to their 



PERSEUS. 



145 



mother, and by the direction of Achelous these fatal 
treasures were deposited in the temple of the Delphian 
god. 

PER^SEIJS. 

Per^seus was the son of Zeus and Dan^ae, daughter of 
Acris'ius, king of Argos. An oracle having declared that 
Acrisius would lose his life by the hand of a son of Danae, 
her father imprisoned her in a brazen tower. Zeus visited 
her in the form of a- shower of gold, and she became the 
mother of Perseus. When he was four years old, Acrisius 
chanced to pass by the brazen chamber and heard him 
cry. Enraged at finding his precautions unavailing, he 
enclosed both mother and child in a chest, which he cast 
into the sea. It was cared for by Zeus, who caused it to 
float to the island of Seriphos, where Danae and Perseus 
were rescued by Dic'tys, brother of the king, Polydec^tes. 
The latter educated Perseus, but his genius and courage 
displeased the king. Polydectes invited his vassals to a 
banquet, requiring all who came to present him with a 
beautiful horse. It was not in the power of Perseus to 
furnish the requisite gift, but he told the king, as he could 
not bring a horse, he would bring him the head of Medu^sa , 
if he desired it. The king accepted the proposal which 
Perseus had made rashly, and the latter was filled with 
terror at the prospect of so perilous an adventure. 

The Gor^gons were three sisters who dwelt by the 
ocean-stream. Medusa was the only one of them that 
was mortal. They turned to stone all who beheld them. 

While Perseus was bemoaning his hard fate, Hermes 
appeared to him, and told him that he and Athene would 
be his guides and advisers. Athene loaned him her shield ; 
Hermes, the harpe or crooked sword. 

After a long journey, Perseus arrived on the borders 
13 K 



146 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



of Oceanus, where dwelt the Grse^ee, sisters of the G-or- 
gons, who were gray from their births, and had but one 
eye and one tooth, which they shared in common. They 
were the only ones who could direct him to the abode of 
the Xymphs, who had charge of the winged shoes, the 
magic wallet, and the helmet of Aides (Pluto), which 
made its wearer invisible. Hermes contrived to take 
the eye and tooth as they were handing them from one 
to another, but promised to restore them if they would 
give him the desired information. They were obliged to 
comply, and the !N'ymphs gladly agreed to lend their 
precious possessions to the protege of the gods. Thus 
equipped with these, he flew to the abode of the Gorgons, 
whom he found asleep. Athene pointed out to him Me- 
dusa, and, fearing to gaze on their petrifying visages, he 
turned towards them the polished shield which he bore, 
and looking on Medusa as she was reflected in it, he cut 
off* her head with his sword. Placing the trophy in the 
magic wallet, he flew away, just as the two immortal 
sisters were awakened by the hissings of their snaky 
locks. From the body of the slain Gorgon sprung 
Chrysa^or and the winged horse Peg^asus. 

Perseus continued his flight until he reached the king- 
dom of Atlas, in Mauritania, of whom he sought rest and 
shelter. Atlas refused the hospitality which the hero de- 
manded, because it had been predicted that his orchard, 
in which the trees bore golden fruit, would be robbed by 
a son of Zeus. Perseus was exasperated, and produced 
from his wallet the head of Medusa, which he held toward 
the king. Atlas became transformed into a stony moun- 
tain. Beard and hair extended themselves into forests ; 
shoulders, hands, and limbs became huge rocks ; and the 
head grew up into a craggy peak, which reached into 
the clouds. [Atlas Mountains in northern part of Africa. ) 
Perseus then resumed his travels. In passing Ethiopia, 
he beheld a maiden fastened with chains to a rock, and 



147 



a monster rising out of the sea ready to devour her, 
while her parents stood on the shore wringing their 
hands in despair. Perseus rushed down at the moment 
when the monster was about to seize its prey, and, hold- 
ing before its eyes the head of Medusa, the hideous body 
became transformed into a huge black rock. Perseus then 
delivered the maiden to her parents. 

Cassiopeia, mother of Andromeda and wife of Ce^pheus, 
had dared to compare her own beauty with that of the 
iNTere^ides, who thereupon besought Poseidon to avenge 
them. He granted their request, and not only over- 
whelmed the land with disastrous floods, but also sent 
a terrible sea-monster, which devoured men and beasts. 
The oracle of Ammon declared the land could be saved 
only by the sacrifice of the king's daughter, Andromeda. 
Cepheus, after some time, yielded to the entreaties of his 
people, and she was chained to a rock close to the sea. 

The parents of Andromeda, having been witnesses to 
their daughter's rescue, readily complied with the wish 
of her deliverer, and gave her to Perseus in marriage. 
Phm^eus, however, brother of Cepheus, to whom An- 
dromeda had been betrothed, appeared at the wedding- 
feast, accompanied by his warriors, and furiously assailed 
the bridegroom, who would have been overpowered but 
for the head of Medusa. Warning his friends of the 
dangerous power of the Gorgon's head, they turned 
away their eyes ; but on showing it to his adversaries, 
they all stiffened into stone. 

Perseus, accompanied by his bride, returned to Seri- 
phos, where he found that Polydectes had been treating 
Danae with great cruelty. He proceeded to the palace 
where the king and his friends were assembled, and 
displayed the formidable Gorgon's head. Each person 
present was changed to a statue. 

Perseus returned to Hermes the shoes, wallet, and 
helmet, by whom they were taken to the !N'ymphs. He 



148 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



gave the Gorgon's head to Athene, who had it placed in 
the middle of her shield. He then sent a messenger to 
his grandfather, informing him that he intended return- 
ing to Argos ; but Acrisius, fearing the fulfilment of the 
prediction of the oracle, fled for protection to the king 
of Larissa. Some time after, Perseus went to Larissa to 
contend at some games. As he was throwing the discus, 
it accidentally struck an old man among the spectators, 
and caused his death. The old man was Acrisius, and 
thus Perseus unintentionally fulfilled the prediction. 
Feeling unwilling to occupy the throne of one whose 
death he had caused, he exchanged kingdoms with the 
king of Tiryns. 

"The golden shower in the prison of Danae is the 
light of morning which streams in upon the darkness 
of night. By the sword which Perseus bears is meant 
the piercing rays of the sun. Perseus, Bellerophon, 
Heracles, Theseus, Apollo, Achilles, Odysseus, and a 
host of others, are only different forms of the same 
person, and this personification has grown out of the 
phrases which originally described the course of the sun 
in its daily or yearly round. 

''Medusa is the starlit night, solemn in its beauty, and 
doomed to die when the sun rises ; her sisters represent 
the absolute darkness which it was supposed the sun 
could not penetrate. 

''The Groe^se represent the twilight or gloaming, or 
else the gray- mists which are seen at the mouth of 
caverns near the sea-shore." — Cox, 

Perseus occupies a prominent position in Greek art. 
There is in the Capitoline Museum at Eome a marble 
relief depicting the rescue of Andromeda. 

His common attributes are the winged sandals, the 
sickle with which he slew Medusa, and the helmet of 
Aides. In bodily form, as well as in costume, he closely 
resembles Hermes. 



BELLEROPHON, 



149 



BELLER^OPHON. 

Beller'ophon was son of Grlau^cus, king of Corinth. 
Having accidentally slain BePlerus, a Corinthian noble, 
he went to Argos to be purified, and was kindly received 
by the king, Proe^tus. The queen, Sthenoboe^a, made 
false charges against Bellerophon. The rites of hospi- 
tality were too sacred to allow Proetus to kill his guest ; 
he therefore sent him to lob^ates, his father-in-law, king 
of Lycia, with a letter written in strange characters, 
desiring him to avenge the crime of which the bearer 
was accused, by putting him to death. lobates, how- 
ever, did not read the letter until he had hospitably 
received Bellerophon, after which he, too, abhorred the 
thought of violating the sacred rites of hospitality. 
Nevertheless, he concluded that Proetus must have had 
good reasons for his conduct, and that probably Bellero- 
phon had been guilty of a crime which deserved death, 
so he decided to send him on dangerous enterprises, in 
which he would in all probability lose his life. 

He first sent him to kill the Chimaera, a monster which 
was at that time devastating the country. It had the 
head of a lion, the body of a goat, the tail of a serpent, 
and flames issued from its mouth. Bellerophon applied 
to the prophet Polyi^des for advice, and was directed by 
him to go sleep in the temple of Athene. He obeyed ; 
the goddess appeared to him, and giving him a bridle, 
directed him to sacrifice a bull to Poseidon, and then to 
repair to a certain spring at which the winged steed 
Pegasus was wont to drink, to approach him boldly and 
put the bridle on his head. Bellerophon did as directed. 
Pegasus at once yielded, and the hero mounting him rose 
in the air above the reach of the monster, which he slew 
with his spear. 

lobates then sent him on an expedition against the 
Sorymi, a fierce neighboring tribe with whom he was at 
13^ 



150 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



enmity. Bellerophon succeeded in vanquishing them, 
and was then sent to make war upon the Amazons, but, 
greatly to the astonishment of lobates, the hero again 
returned victorious. 

The last effort of the king to cause the death of Beller- 
ophon was placing in ambush the bravest of the Lycians 
for the purpose of destroying him, but he bravely de- 
fended himself and slew them all. The king then gave 
him his daughter in marriage, and shared the kingdom 
with him. 

Bellerophon became elated by his victories, and at- 
tempted to mount to heaven by means of Pegasus. Zeus 
sent a gad-fly to sting the horse, which became so res- 
tive that his rider was precipitated to the earth. The 
winged horse flew up to heaven and became bearer of 
the thunderbolts. 

Filled with remorse at having oflended the gods, Beller- 
ophon fell a prey to the deepest melancholy, and wan- 
dered about for the remainder of his life in the loneliest 
and most desolate places. 

After death he was honored at Corinth as a hero, and 
he had a shrine in the grove of Poseidon. 

There was a burning mountain in Lycia called Chi- 
msera, whose top was the resort of lions on account of 
its desolate wilderness ; the middle, which was fruitful, 
was covered with goats, and at the base the marshy 
ground abounded with serpents. Bellerophon was said 
to have conquered the Chimsera, because he was the 
first to make his habitation on that mountain." 

In the story of Bellerophon, the reference to the sun 
is obvious. He was called the son of Poseidon, who was 
sometimes called Glaucus. None could appreciate this 
genealogy better than the Corinthians, who daily saw the 
sun rise out of the sea. The fall of Bellerophon is the 
rapid descent of the sun towards evening, and the plain 
over which he wandered is the broad expanse of sombre 



HERACLES, 



151 



light through which the sun is sometimes seen to travel 
sullenly and alone to his setting. The contest of Beller- 
ophon with the Chimsera may be a representation of 
the drying up, by means of the sun's rays, of the furious 
mountain torrents which flood the cornfields." — Cox, 




HER^ACLES (Hercules). 

Her^acles, the most renowned hero of antiquity, was 
the son of Zeus and Akme^na. On the day on which 
he was to be born, Zeus announced to the gods that on 
that day would be born one of his race who should rule 
over all his neighbors. Hera hated Akmena, so, hast- 
ening to earth, she caused the birth of Eurys^theus, 
grandson of Perseus, to occur before that of Heracles. 
Iph^icles was twin-brother of Heracles^ 



152 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



Not satisfied with having subjected the hero to the 
will of the weak and cowardly Eurystheus, Hera sent 
two serpents to kill the child ivhen he was about eight 
months old. Heracles, however, gave the first proof of 
his divine origin by strangling them with his hands. 
Zeus then acknowledged his son. Finding Hera sleep- 
ing, he laid Heracles by her side, who by this means 
obtained the divine milk without her consent. When 
Hera awoke she flung him away from her, sprinkling 
upon the vault of the sky the milk that fell from her 
breast, the marks of which form the Galaxy, or Milky 
Way, on which the gods walk. 

Heracles grew up in Thebes, and was under the care 
of the best preceptors. Li^nus taught him music ; but 
one day, when he corrected his pupil rather severely, the 
youth angrily struck him with his lyre and killed him. 

As a punishment, Amphit^ryon, his step-father, sent 
him into the country where his flocks and herds were 
feeding, and there Pleracles remained until eighteen 
years of age. His extraordinary strength and stature 
became the wonder and admiration of all. 

One day, Heracles was in a solitary spot meditating 
upon what use to make of the wonderful powers with 
which he had been endowed by the gods. Two female 
figures appeared to him— one was Yice, the other. Virtue. 
Each represented to him the advantages to be gained by 
following her. He listened attentively to both speakers, 
and then, after mature deliberation, he decided to follow 
Virtue. 

The first exploit of Heracles was the slaying of an 
enormous lion which was in the habit of destroying the 
herds grazing on Mount Cithseron. The hide of the 
animal he wore afterwards over his shoulders, the skin 
of the head forming a helmet. 

His next act was to free the Thebans from a tribute 
which they were compelled to pay to the Min^yans, a 



HERACLES. 



153 



neighboring people. Oregon, king of Thebes, in grati- 
tude, gave the hero his daughter, Meg^ara, in marriage, 
and Iphicles married her sister. 

Hera, still hostile to Heracles, caused him to become 
insane, and while in this condition he killed three of his 
own children and two of those of his brother Iphicles. 
When he regained his reason he was horrified at what 
he had done, and went to Thes^tius to be purified. He 
then proceeded to Delphi to consult the oracle, and was 
told that he must serve Eurystheus by performing twelve 
tasks which should be imposed by him, after which he 
would be made immortal. 

The Twelve Labors of Heracles. 

1. The Nemean Lion. — The first task which Eurys- 
theus imposed upon Heracles was to bring him the skin 
of the Keme^an lion which ravaged the country, and 
whose skin bade defiance to every weapon. Heracles 
succeeded in strangling it with his hands. He then 
made himself a suit of armor of the skin, and a new hel- 
met of the head of the animal. Eurystheus was so 
alarmed by this heroic feat that he forbade Heracles 
henceforth to come within the walls of the city, but 
commanded him to receive orders for the future through 
the herald, Co^preus. 

2. The Lernsean Hy^dra. — The Hy^dra was a mon- 
ster serpent having nine heads, one of which was im- 
mortal. After driving her from her lair by means of his 
arrows, he advanced fearlessly and began striking off the 
heads with his sword. To his amazement, in the place 
of each head he struck ofi" two sprung up. He then 
ordered his nephew, lola^us, to set on fire a neighboring 
wood, and with the firebrands he seared the throats as 
Heracles cut off the heads, thus preventing the growth 
of others. Heracles buried the immortal head and 



154 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



placed over it a heavy stone. He then dipped his 
arrows in her poisonous blood, thus rendering wounds 
inflicted by them incurable. 

3. The Stag of Diana. — The third task was to bring 
alive and unhurt to Eurystheus the stag of Diana, famous 
for its swiftness, its golden horns, and brazen hoofs. 
Heracles pursued her for a whole year, and finally over- 
took her on the banks of the river Ladon ; but in order 
to secure her he was obliged to wound her, after which 
he lifted her on his shoulders and carried her through 
Arcadia. On his way he met Artemis (Diana) and her 
brother, Apollo. The goddess reprimanded him for 
molesting an animal sacred to her. By representing the 
commands of Eurystheus, he appeased her, and she per- 
mitted him to take it to Mycenae. 

4. The Eryman^thian Boar.— The fourth task im- 
posed upon Heracles was to bring alive to Eurystheus 
the Erymanthian boar. This animal inhabited the 
mountain district of Erymanthus, in Arcadia, and was 
the scourge of the surrounding country. 

On his way thither, Heracles was entertained in a 
cavern by the Centaur Pho'lus. After an abundant 
repast, Heracles asked his host for some wine. Pholus 
explained that the wine was the common property of all 
the Centaurs, and that it was against the rules for a 
cask to be opened unless all were present to partake of 
it. Heracles prevailed upon his host to make an excep- 
tion in his favor ; but the odor of the wine soon spread 
over the mountain and brought to the spot large num- 
bers of Centaurs, all armed with huge rocks and fir- 
trees. Heracles drove them back with arrows and fire- 
brands, and pursued them to Malea, where they took 
refuge with the good Centaur Chiron. Unfortunately, 
one of the poisoned arrows pierced the knee of Chiron. 
On returning to the cave of Pholus, Heracles found him 



HERACLES. 



155 



dead. Having drawn an arrow out of one of the slain 
Centaurs, he accidentally let it fall on his foot and died 
from the wound. The hero buried him, and then set 
forth to hunt the boar. 

With loud shouts, Heracles drove him out of the 
thickets into the snow-drifts on the summit of the moun- 
tain, where he caught and bound him, and then carried 
him to Mycenae. 

5. Cleansing the Stables of Au^geas. — The fifth 
task of Heracles was to cleanse in one day the stables of 
Augeas, king of Elis, whose wealth in cattle had become 
proverbial. Heracles presented himself before the king, 
and offered to cleanse in one day the stables in which 
there were three thousand oxen, provided he should 
receive in return a tenth part of the herds. Augeas, 
thinking the feat impossible, accepted his offer. Hera- 
cles then turned the course of the rivers Alpheus and 
Peneus through the stalls, and thus carried off the filth. 

When Augeas learned that Heracles had undertaken 
the labor at the command of Eurystheus, he refused to 
give him the stipulated reward— a breach of faith for 
which Heracles afterwards took terrible vengeance on 
the king. 

6. The Stymphaaian Birds.— The sixth task of 
Heracles was to chase away the immense birds of prey 
whose home was on the shore of Lake Stymphalis, in 
Arcadia, where they caused great destruction among 
men and cattle. 

While the hero stood deliberating how he should get 
within reach of the birds, Athene brought him a pair of 
brazen clappers made by Hephaestus. He ascended a 
neighboring hill and commenced to rattle them violently. 
The birds rose into the air in terror, when he shot them 
with his arrows. 

7. The Cretan Bull.— The seventh labor of Heracles 



156 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



was to capture the Cretan bull. Poseidon once sent up 
a bull out of the sea for Mi^nos, king of Crete, to sacri- 
fice, but Minos was induced by the beauty of the animal 
to place it among his own herds, and sacrificed another 
in its stead. Poseidon caused the animal to become mad, 
and commit such havoc in the island as to endanger the 
safety of the inhabitants. Minos gladly gave the hero 
permission to capture this bull. Heracles took it to 
Mycenee, where it was set free by Eurystheus. It was 
eventually killed by Theseus on the plains of Marathon. 

8. The Mares of Diome^des. — The eighth task of 
Heracles was to bring to Eur}' stheus the mares of Dio- 
medes, king of the Bisto'nians, in Thrace. These mares 
were exceedingly fierce and fed on human flesh. All 
strangers who entered the country were made prisoners 
by Diomedes and flung before the horses, who devoured 
them. Heracles overpowered Diomedes and threw him 
to the carnivorous beasts. He delivered the mares to 
Eurystheus, who set them loose on Mount Olympus, 
where they became the prey of wild beasts. 

9. The Girdle of Hippolyte. — Hippolyte, queen of 
the Amazons, had received from Ares a beautiful girdle, 
which she wore as a sign of her royal power and au- 
thority. Adme^te, daughter of Eurystheus, was anxious 
to obtain this girdle, so Heracles was commanded to 
bring it as his ninth task. The Amazons were a nation 
of female warriors who dwelt on the banks of the river 
Thermo 'don, near the Black Sea. After various adven- 
tures, Heracles and the heroes that accompanied him 
arrived at the town of the Amazons, and Hippolyte was 
so impressed by his extraordinary stature and noble 
bearing that, on learning his errand, she at once con- 
sented to give him the girdle. But Hera, in the guise 
of an Amazon, spread a report that Heracles was about 
to carry ofl* their queen. The Amazons attacked Hera- 



HERACLES, 



157 



cles and his followers, and in the battle which ensued 
Hippolyte was killed. The hero secured the girdle and 
departed. 

On his journey homeward occurred his celebrated 
adventure with Hesi^one, daughter of Laom^edon, king 
of Troy. This king had refused Poseidon and Apollo 
the rewards he had promised them for their assistance 
in building the walls of Troy. In consequence of his per- 
fidy, Apollo sent a pestilence, and Poseidon, a sea-mon- 
ster, which swallowed all the people that came within 
his reach. The oracle being consulted, declared that the 
plague would never cease till Laomedon had given his 
daughter, Hesione, to be devoured by the monster. 
The princess had just been chained to a rock when Her- 
acles arrived. He offered to destroy the monster if 
Laomedon would give him the horses which Tros had 
received from Zeus as a compensation for the loss of 
Ganymedes. Laomedon agreed, and Heracles slew the 
monster. Laomedon, however, again proved false to 
his word, and Heracles, with a threat of future ven- 
geance, departed. 

10. The Oxen of Ge^ryon.— The tenth task of Hera- 
cles was to capture the cattle belonging to the giant 
Ge^ryon. This monster had three bodies united at the 
waist, three heads, six hands, and six feet. He possessed 
a herd of splendid cattle which were famous for their 
size, beauty, and color. They were guarded by another 
giant named Euryt^ion, and a two-headed dog called 
Or^thrus. Geryon inhabited an island in the far west 
in the region of the setting sun. 

After a wearisome journey Heracles arrived at the 
western coast of Africa, where, as a monument of his 
perilous expedition, he erected the famous Pillars of 
Heracles," one of which he placed on each side of the 
Strait of Gibraltar. Here he found the heat so insuflfer- 
14 



158 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



able that he raised his bow and threatened to shoot the 
sun-god. Helios was so struck with admiration at his 
audacity that he lent the hero his golden boat, and thus 
Heracles crossed over safely to the island of Erythia. 
He first slew the herdsman and dog, and was proceeding 
to drive oif the cattle, when he was overtaken by Geryon. 
A desperate encounter took place in which the giant per- 
ished. Heracles is then supposed to have placed the 
oxen in the boat of Helios, in which he recrossed the 
ocean, and then journeyed on foot through Iberia, Gaul, 
and Italy. At length he arrived at Mycenae, where Eu- 
rystheus sacrificed the oxen to Hera. 

11. The Apples of the Hesper^ides. — The eleventh 
task imposed by Eurystheus was to bring him the golden 
apples of the Hesperides, which grew on a tree presented 
by Gsea to Hera on her wedding-day. This tree was 
guarded by four maidens called Hesperides, and by a 
terrible dragon which never slept. The hero was in 
total ignorance of the locality of the garden of the Hes- 
perides, and he made several fruitless efforts before he 
succeeded in reaching the desired spot. He applied to 
the nymphs of the river Po for advice, and was told that 
Xereus, if properly managed, would direct him. Hera- 
cles seized Nereus while he was sleeping, and the sea- 
god, unable to escape from his grasp, gave him the 
desired information. 

Heracles then proceeded to Libya, where he was chal- 
lenged to a wrestling-match by the giant Antae^us, a 
powerful son of Earth, who received new strength every 
time he touched the ground. The hero lifted him up in 
the air and squeezed him to death in bis arms. . 

He then passed into Egypt, where Busi^ris was in the 
habit of sacrificing all strangers to Zeus. Heracles allowed 
himself to be bound, but, when brought before the altar, 
he burst asunder his bonds and slew Busiris and his son. 



HERACLES. 



159 



From Egypt he journeyed into Ethiopia, where he slew 
Ema^thion, son of Eos and Tithonus, for his cruelty to 
strangers. He then wandered through Arabia, and at 
last arrived at Moutit Caucasus, where Prometheus 
groaned in unceasing agony. Heracles shot the eagle, 
and Prometheus, grateful for his deliverance, instructed 
him how to find his way to that remote region in the 
far west, where Atlas supported the heavens on his 
shoulders, near which lay the Garden of the Hesperides. 

On arriving at his destination, Heracles, by the advice 
of Prometheus, offered to support the heavens for Atlas 
if he would bring the apples. Atlas did as requested, 
but announced his intention of bearing the apples him- 
self to Eurystheus. Heracles, apparently agreeing, 
asked Atlas to hold the heavens whilst he made a pad 
for his head. When Atlas resumed his former position, 
Heracles gathered up the apples and went away. Eurys- 
theus, having seen the apples, gave them back, and Her- 
acles presented them to Athene. 

12. Cer^berus. — The twelfth and last task was to 
bring up Cerberus from the lower world. In this under- 
taking he was assisted by Hermes and Athene. After 
having been initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries, Her- 
acles made his descent into the lower world at Cape 
Teenarum. Close to the gates of Hades he found the 
heroes The^seus and Pirithous seated on an enchanted 
rock, where they had been placed by Aides as a punish- 
ment for attempting to carry off Persephone. Heracles 
succeeded in setting Theseus free, but he was obliged to 
leave Pirithous because the earth quaked when he at- 
tempted to touch him. 

Aides consented to his taking Cerberus, on condition 
that he should master him without using any weapons. 
Heracles seized the furious beast, and, having chained 
him, he conducted him to the upper world. After 



160 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



Eurystheus had seen Cerberus, Heracles returned him 
to his place in the lower world. With the completion 
of this task the servitude of Heracles to Eur3^stheus 
ended. 

The hero, after his release from servitude, returned to 
Thebes, where he gave his wife, Megara, in marriage to 
lolaus. He then proceeded to the court of Eu'rytus, 
who had promised his daughter, Pole, in marriage to 
the man who should vanquish himself and his sons in 
shooting with the bow. Heracles gained a complete 
victor}^, but Eurytus, nevertheless, refused to give him 
his daughter. Heracles, with manj' threats of future 
vengeance, withdrew, and when not long afterwards 
Iph^itus, the son of Eurytus, fell into his hands, he 
hurled him from a high tower into the plain below. 
This treacherous action was explained by the story that 
Iphitus was a friend of Heracles, and had advocated his 
cause with Eurytus, and that Heracles had been sud- 
denly seized with insanity. 

Heracles sought in vain for some one to purify him 
from the murder of Iphitus. When he sought the aid 
of the oracle at Delphi, he was denied a response ; where- 
upon the angr}' hero seized the tripod, and was in the 
act of bearing it away in order to erect an oracle of his 
own, when he was confronted by the angrj^ deity Apollo. 
A violent struggle would have ensued had not Zeus in- 
terfered by separating them with his lightning. 

The Pythian priestess now commanded Heracles to 
allow himself to be sold into slavery for three years, the 
money to be given to Eurytus in compensation for the 
loss of his son. Accordingly, Hermes led him into Lydia 
and sold him to Om^phale, queen of that country. It 
is said the queen clad her illustrious slave in female 
attire, and set him to spin with the distaif and spindle, 
while she arrayed herself in the lion's skin and carried 
the club. 



HERACLES, 



161 



After the expiration of his servitude, Heracles under- 
took an expedition against the faithless Laomedon, king 
of Troy. The city was taken by storm ; Laomedon and 
all his sons, except Priam, were killed. Hesione was 
given in marriage to Tel^amon. Soon afterwards he 
took similar vengeance on Augeas, king of Elis, and 
placed Phyleus on the throne. 

Heracles now proceeded to Calydon, where he wooed 
the beautiful Deianei^ra, daughter of CE^neus. His rival 
was the river-god Achelous, and it was agreed that their 
claims should be decided by single combat. Achelous 
trusted to his power to assume different forms, but, hav- 
ing transformed himself into a bull, Heracles broke off 
one of his horns, and Achelous declared himself van- 
quished. Heracles restored the horn, and received in 
exchange that of the goat Amalthea, called the Horn of 
Plenty, which produced everything its owner desired. 

After his marriage with Deianeira, Heracles lived for 
three years at the court of his father-in-law. In conse- 
quence of an accidental murder, he banished himself 
from ^tolia and set out to visit King Ce^yx, taking with 
him his wife and son, HyFlus. On coming to the river 
Evenus, Heracles intrusted Deianeira to the Centaur 
Xessus to be carried across while he forded the stream 
with his little son in his arms. The; Centaur, charmed 
with the beauty of his fair burden, attempted to carry 
her off. Heracles heard the screams of his wife, and shot 
Kessus through the heart with one of his poisoned 
arrows. He directed Deianeira to secure some of the 
blood which flowed from his wound, assuring her that it 
would act as a charm by which she could always retain 
the love of her husband. 

Heracles had long meditated vengeance on Eurytus, 
who had refused to give him his daughter, lole, after he 
had won her by shooting with the bow. He now 
marched against him with an army. The town and 
14* L 



162 



HAND BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



citadel were destroyed, and Eurytus and his sons slain, 
while the beautiful lole fell into the hands of the con- 
queror. Wishing to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to 
Zeus, he sent to his wife for a sacrificial robe. Hearing 
of the beauty of lole, Deianeira anointed the tunic which 
she sent with the blood of Kessus- Heracles arrayed 
himself and prepared to sacrifice, but as the flames from 
the altar heated the tunic, the effect of the hydra's blood 
began to appear. He endeavored to tear it off, but the 
flesh came with it. In his frenzy he seized the herald 
Li^ehas, the bearer of the robe, and dashed him in pieces 
against a rock of the sea. Convinced that death was 
inevitable, he proceeded to Mount (E'ta. Deianeira, 
full of sorrow and despair on beholding the terrible 
suffering of which she was the innocent cause, hanged 
herself. 

The hero caused a pyre to be constructed, mounted 
it, and implored the bystanders to set fire to it. Xo one 
had the courage to obey him until Poe^as. the father of 
Philocte'tes, happened to pass by and rendered him the 
service, in return for which Heracles presented him with 
his bow and arrows. As the flames rose high, a cloud 
descended from heaven, and, amidst furious peals of 
thunder, a chariot with four horses, driven by Athene, 
appeared and bore the illustrious hero to Olympus, 
where he was joyfully received by the gods. Hera, in 
token of her reconciliation, gave him the hand of her 
daughter, Hebe, in marriage. 

Heracles was deified as the god of strength, and was 
especially honored as patron of the gymnasia. He had 
temples and festivals in various parts of Greece. In 
Marathon, games were celebrated in his honor every 
four years, at which silver cups were given as prizes. 
The fourth day of every month was held sacred to him, 
being: regarded as his birthday. 

The story of Heracles is the most complicated of all 



THESEUS, 



163 



the Greek myths. It sprung from the old phrases which 
had spoken of the sun as toiling for so poor and weak a 
creature as man. Every feature of the many legends 
connected with his name may be traced back to phrases 
which spoke of the sun as born to a life of toil, as enter- 
ing on his weary tasks after a brief but happy infancy, 
and as sinking finally to his rest after a fierce battle with 
the clouds which had hindered his journey. 

" Darkness of night is meant by the serpents killed by 
Heracles. lole, the violet-colored clouds that are seen 
at sunrise and sunset. The ' golden apples,' the golden- 
colored clouds which are grouped around the sun as he 
sinks in the western sky. 

"The death-scene in the story of Heracles is the last 
incident in what has been called the ' Tragedy of Kature' 
— the battle of the sun with the clouds, which gather 
around him at his setting like mortal enemies. As he 
sinks, the fiery mists embrace him, and the purple vapors 
rush across the sky like the streams of blood which gush 
from the hero's body, while the violet-colored evening 
clouds seem to cheer him in his dying agony." — Cox, 

THE^SEUS. 

The^seus, son of j3E^geus, king of Athens, and ^^thra, 
daughter of Pit^theus, king of Troezen^, was one of the 
most famous heroes of antiquity, ^geus, who was 
privately married to ^thra, before leaving Troezen con- 
cealed his sword and sandals under a rock, and told 
^thra that, if her child should be a son, not to send 
him to Athens until he had become strong enough to 
raise the stone, and then to allow him to take with him 
these tokens of his identity. 

Theseus was carefully trained and educated by his 



164 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



grandfather, Pittheus. When he was sixteen years of 
age, his mother led him to the stone on wliicli he was to 
try his strength. Lifting it, he took from beneath his 
father's sword and sandals, which ^thra desired him to 
carry to ^geus. 

His early adventures consisted in overcoming a series 
of obstacles that beset him on his journey from Troezen 
to Athens. Between Troezen and Epidaurus he slew 
Periphe^tes, a son of Hephaestus, because he was in the 
habit of murdering travelers with his iron club. The- 
seus appropriated the club as a trophy of his victory. 

He next delivered the Isthmus of Corinth from a 
powerful robber named Si^nis, who forced all travelers 
to bend with him one of the branches of a tall pine-tree. 
Having dragged it to the ground, Sinis suddenly released 
his hold, and the stranger was dashed to the ground and 
killed. Theseus conquered Sinis and inflicted the same 
fate upon him. In the woody district of Crom'niyon, 
he destroyed a dangerous wild sow that laid waste the 
country. 

On the borders of Meg^ara dwelt another monster 
called Sci^ron, who compelled travelers to wash his feet, 
and then kicked them into the sea. Theseus overcame 
him and threw his body over the cliff. 

In the neighborhood of Eleusis he vanquished the 
giant Cer^cyon, who forced all who came that way to 
wrestle with him, and then killed those whom he van- 
quished. 

On the banks of the Cephis^sus he met the giant Dam- 
as^tes, called Procrus^tes (Stretcher), who had two iron 
beds, one being long and the other short. In the short 
one he placed the tall men, whose limbs he cut to the 
size of the bed. The short ones he took to the long bed, 
and pulled them to fit it ; thus he left his victims to ex- 
pire. Theseus slew him. 

On reaching Athens he found his father ^geus mar- 



THESEUS. 



165 



ried to the enchantress Mede^a, By her insinuations, 
the king became so suspicious of the young stranger, 
that he was handing him a cup of poison, when the sword 
which he bore attracting his attention, he recognized 
and acknowledged his son. Medea fled, but a new dan- 
ger awaited the hero. The sons of Parias, the brother 
of ^geus, who had flattered themselves with the hope 
of succeeding their childless uncle in the government of 
Athens, excited a revolt, which, however, was immedi- 
ately quelled by Theseus. 

Theseus resolved to perform some service for the state 
which should gain for him the hearts of the people. 
The Maratho^nian bull was at this time committing 
great ravages. Theseus went to Marathon, caught the 
bull, and, having exhibited him in chains to the aston- 
ished people, he offered it in sacrifice to Apollo. 

The next enterprise undertaken by Theseus secured to 
him the admiration and gratitude of his fellow-citizens. 
This was the slaying of the Min^otaur, a monster half 
man, half bull, whose lair was in the wonderful labyrinth 
constructed by Daed^alus for Mi^nos, king of Crete. 

Andro'geus, son of Minos, having come to the pub- 
lic games at Athens, vanquished all his competitors, 
^geus, jealous of his success, laid an ambush for him, 
and he was thus treacherously murdered. To avenge 
the death of his son, Minos invaded Attica, conquered 
Athens and the adjoining towns, and compelled the 
Athenians to send him a yearly tribute of seven youths 
and seven maidens to be devoured by the Minotaur. 

Theseus resolved to deliver his country from this 
shameful tribute. Accordingly, when the time came 
for sending the youths and maidens, who were drawn by 
lot, he offered himself as one of the victims, notwith- 
standing the entreaties of his father, ^geus. The ship 
departed under black sails, as usual. Theseus promised 
his father to change them for white in case of his return- 



166 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



ing victorious. When they arrived in Crete, the youths 
and maidens were exhibited before Minos ; and Ariad^ne, 
his daughter, being present, became deeply enamored of 
Theseus, by whom her love was readily returned. She 
furnished him with a sword with which to encounter 
the Minotaur, and with a clue of thread by which he 
might find his way out of the labyrinth. He was suc- 
cessful, slew the Minotaur, escaped from the labyrinth, 
and accompanied by Ariadne, he with his rescued com- 
panions sailed for Athens. On the way they stopped at 
the island of Naxos, where Theseus abandoned Ariadne, 
because Athene had appeared to him in a dream and 
warned him that Ariadne was destined to become the 
wife of Dionysus, the wine-god. 

On approaching the coast of Attica, Theseus, forget- 
ting the signal appointed by his father, neglected to 
raise the white sails, ^geus, who was on the beach 
anxiously awaiting his son's return, saw the black sails, 
and, thinking his son had perished, he threw himself 
into the sea and was drowned. The sea was named for 
him ^gean. 

Theseus succeeded his father as king of Athens. He 
united the twelve towns of Attica under one govern- 
ment, renewed the Isthmian Games, and instituted the 
Panathensea in honor of Athene-Polias. 

Theseus accompanied Heracles to the country of the 
Amazons, and distinguished himself so much in the 
engagement with these female warriors that Heracles 
gave him Anti^5pe, sister of Hippoly^te. He carried her 
off to Athens and made her his queen. Their son was 
Hipporytiis, famed for his unhappy fate. 

The friendship between Theseus and Pirith^ous origi- 
nated in the midst of arms. Pirithous made an irrup- 
tion into the plains of Marathon and carried off the 
herds of the king of Athens. Theseus went to repel the 
plunderers. The moment Pirithous beheld him, he was 



THESEUS. 



167 



seized with admiration, and, stretching out his hand in 
token of peace, he cried, ''Be judge thyself ; what sat- 
isfaction dost thou require?" ''Thy friendship," re- 
plied Theseus, and they swore inviolable fidelity. They 
ever continued true brothers in arms. Each of them 
aspired to espouse a daughter of Zeus. Theseus fixed 
his choice on Helen, then but a child, afterwards so 
celebrated as the cause of the Trojan war, and with the 
aid of his friend he carried her ofi". 

Pirithous now requested Theseus to assist him in his 
ambitious scheme of descending to the lower world and 
carrying off Persephone, the queen of Aides. Theseus 
would not forsake his friend, and together they entered 
the gloomy realm. Aides set them on an enchanted 
rock at his palace gate, where they remained until Her- 
acles liberated Theseus ; but, in obedience to an injunc- 
tion of the gods, Pirithous was left to endure forever the 
punishment of his too daring ambition. 

After the death of Antiope, Theseus married Phoe^dra, 
daughter of Minos, king of Crete, and sister of Ariadne. 
Phaedra fell in love with Hippolytus, but he repulsed 
her advances, and her love was changed to hate. She 
used her influence over her husband to cause him to be 
jealous of his son. Theseus besought Poseidon to pun- 
ish his faithless son. As Hippolytus was one day driv- 
ing his chariot along the shore, a sea-monster raised 
himself above the waves and frightened the horses so 
that they ran away and dashed the chariot to pieces. 
When Phsedra learned of the fate of her unfortunate vic- 
tim, she put an end to her own life, and Theseus, when 
too late, discovered the innocence of his son. 

Theseus at length lost the favor of his people and re- 
tired to the court of Lycome^des, king of Sgyros, who at 
first received him kindly, but afterwards treacherously 
slew him. Long after his death the Athenians obtained 
his bones from the island of Scyros and interred them. 



168 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



In his honor a temple was erected, which is still standing, 
and serves as a museum of art. 

The Athenians revered Theseus as a demi-god, brought 
offerings to his altars, and instituted festivals to his 
memory. 

CALYDONIAN HUNT. 

(E^neus, king of Calydon, in ^Etolia, had incurred the 
displeasure of Artemis by inadvertently neglecting her 
in a general sacrifice to the gods after a bountiful har- 
vest. To punish this neglect, she sent a huge wild boar, 
which devastated the fields of Calydon, and seemed in- 
vincible by any ordinary means on account of its vast 
size. Melea^ger, the son of (Eneus, proclaimed a gen- 
eral hunt, and invited to it the most famous heroes of 
the age. Among those that responded to his call were 
Ja^son, Cas^tor and PoFlux, IMas and Lyn^ceus, Pe^- 
leus, Tel'amon, Adme^tus, Pirithous, and Theseus. The 
brothers of Althea, wife of CEneus, joined the hunters, 
also the fleet-footed huntress Atalan^ta. 

After CEneus had entertained his guests for nine days, 
the hunt began, and the huge beast was driven from its 
lair. Atalanta was the first to inflict a wound. After 
a long and desperate encounter, Meleager succeeded in 
killing the monster, and presented the head and hide to 
Atalanta, because she had been the first to wound the 
boar. The uncles of Meleager forcibly deprived Atalanta 
of the prize, and in the struggle which ensued Meleager 
killed his uncles and restored hide and head to Atalanta. 
When Althea beheld the dead bodies of her brothers, 
her grief and anger knew no bounds. 

The Moe^ree (Fates) had appeared to Althea soon after 
the birth of Meleager, and informed her that her son 
would live only until a certain brand, that was then 
burning on the fire, was consumed. Althea immediately 



D^DALUS AND ICARUS, 



169 



snatched it from the flames and carefully treasured it. 
After Meleager had slain her brothers, she threw the 
fatal brand into the fire. As it burned, the vigor of 
Meleager wasted away, and when it was consumed he 
expired. Althea, full of sorrow for her hasty deed, put 
an end to her own life. 

ATALANTA. 

Atalanta had been told by the oracle to avoid mar- 
riage, as it would prove fatal to her. To all suitors she 
proposed a race, promising to be the prize of the one 
who should outrun her, but those who were vanquished 
were to be put to death. [N'otwithstanding this hard 
condition, some would try, and numerous youths had 
paid the penalty of their rashness, when Hippom^enes, 
a son of Poseidon, challenged her to a trial of swiftness. 
He invoked the aid of Aphrodite (Venus), who gave him 
three golden apples, and told him how to use them. In 
the race he threw them on the ground at different times. 
Atalanta, who was dazzled by the beauty of the golden 
fruit, repeatedly stopped to secure it, and thus Hippo- 
menes won the race and carried off his prize. 

But the lovers were so full of their own happiness that 
they forgot to pay due honor to Aphrodite. Provoked 
at their ingratitude, she caused them to give offence to 
Cybele. That goddess changed them into lions and 
yoked them to her car, where they are still to be seen in 
all representations of the goddess Cybele. 

D^D^ALUS AND IC^ARUS. 

Dsedalus was one of the most celebrated artificers of 
the legendary period. He was so proud of* his achieve- 
ments that he could not endure the thought of having a 
15 



170 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



rival. His nephew gave striking evidences of ingenuity. 
Walking on the sea-shore, he picked up the spine of a 
fish. Imitating it, he notched a piece of iron on the edge, 
and thus invented the saw. He also invented a pair of 
compasses. Daedalus, envious of his nephew's perform- 
ances, one day pushed him oflf the top of a high tower. 
Athene, who saw him falling, changed him into a bird 
called the partridge. This bird always avoids high places. 




Daedalus fled with his son Icarus to Crete, where they 
were welcomed by Minos. He built the Labyrinth, be- 
sides many other wonderful works of art, but afterwards, 
having lost the favor of the king, both father and son 
were imprisoned. They contrived to escape from the 
prison, but, as the king kept strict watch on all the ves- 
sels, they could not leave the island by sea ; so Daedalus 
made wings of feathers fastened together with wax, and 
equipped himself and son. He taught Icarus to fly, and 
charged him to keep at a moderate height. Icarus fell 
into the sea, .which was named for him Ica'rium Mare, 
but Daedalus reached Cumae in safety. 



THE ARGONAUTIC EXPEDITION, 171 




The Argonautic Expedition. 

Ja'son. 

^^son, king of lolcus, in Thessaly, was deprived of 
his throne by his half-brother, Pe^lias. ^son rescued 
his Uttle son Ja'son from Pelias, and committed him to 
the care of the Centaur -Ghiron. After completing his 
twentieth year, Jason determined to return to lolcus 
and demand of his uncle his rightful inheritance. As 
he was crossing the river Anau^ros he lost one of his 
sandals, and was obliged to proceed without it. He 
arrived in the market-place of lolcus, and Pelias, hap- 
pening to see him, shuddered when he saw the youth 
had but one sandal, because he had been warned by the 
oracle to beware of the one-sandaled man. Pelias dis- 
guised his fears, conversed kindly with Jason, and drew 
from him his name and errand. Pretending to be 
pleased with his nephew, Pelias entertained him sump- 
tuously for five days. On the sixth, Jason demanded 
from him the throne and kingdom. Pelias declared his 
willingness to resign the crown if Jason would bring 



172 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



back the Grolden Fleece from Cokhis. Jason at once 
accepted the perilous adventure. Athene and Hera 
assisted him to build the ship Argo, in the prow of 
which was placed a plank from the speaking oak of 
Dodona. When it was finished, Jason invited the heroes 
of Greece to join him in the enterprise. 

The Story of the Golden Fleece. 

Ath^amas, a king of Boeotia, married ^^'ephele, a cloud 
nymph. Their two children were Phry'xus and HeFle. 
He afterwards married Tno, a daughter of Cadmus, and 
she, being jealous of her step-children, resolved to de- 
stroy them. She persuaded the women to parch the 
seed-corn without their husbands' knowledge. The land 
consequently yielded no increase, and when the oracle 
was consulted, Ino bribed the messengers to say that the 
evil could be removed only by sacrificing Phryxus and 
Helle to Zeus. But the watchful !N"ephele apprised her 
children of their danger, and, placing them on a golden- 
fleeced ram which had been given her by Hermes, and 
which, like the celestial steeds, could run through the 
air, she directed them to flee to Colchis. 

On the way, Helle fell into the sea and was drowned ; 
so the sea was called for her Hellespont (Helle's Sea). 
Phryxus arrived safely in Colchis. He sacrificed to 
Zeus the ram which had borne him thither, and sus- 
pended the skin or golden fleece in a grove sacred to 
Ares (Mars), and placed a dragon to guard it. He mar- 
ried Cal9i^ope, daughter of the king ^e^tes, but soon 
afterwards died. 

The Voyage of the Argonauts. 

When everything was in readiness, Jason sacrificed to 
Zeus, who, as a sign of his favor, answered by thunder- 
ing. Jason was commander-in-chief of the expedition. 



THE ARGON AUTIC EXPEDITTON. 173 



The number of the heroes was fifty, the most distin- 
guished of whom were Heracles, Theseus, Castor and 
Pollux, Telamon, Peleus, Admetus, Idas and Lyneeus, 
Laer^tes, Ampliiara^us, Ze^tes and CaFais, Pirithous, 
Poeas, Meleager, Orpheus ; ^sculapius was surgeon, and 
Tiphys, pilot. For a time all things were favorable, 
when suddenly a storm forced the adventurers to seek 
refuge in the harbor of Lemnos. They were hospitabty 
entertained by the Lemnian women, and after remain- 
ing several days they again embarked. 

On arriving at the coast of Mysia they went ashore. 
Here Hylas was lost, and while Heracles and Telamon 
were searching for him, the Argo departed, leaving them 
behind. The Argonauts next arrived in Bebrycia, where 
Am^yciis reigned. He always challenged strangers to a 
trial of strength. He was vanquished and slain in a 
combat with Pollux. 

They sailed on to Salmydessus, on the European coast, 
where the prophet Phin^eus reigned, whom the gods had 
punished with blindness. To complete his misery, he 
was perpetually tormented by the Harpies. As soon as 
food was set before the unhappy prince, they came and 
devoured a portion of it and defiled the remainder. 

The heroes, having landed, proceeded to the palace of 
Phineus to consult him as to their further course. He 
promised to give them ample directions if they would 
deliver him from the Harpies. Zetes and Calais, the 
winged sons of Boreas, pursued the monsters to the 
islands named Strophades. Here the Boreades seized 
them, but, on their swearing never to molest Phineus 
again, their captors released them and they rejoined 
their companions. In gratitude for his deliverance, 
Phineus instructed the Argonauts how to overcome the 
dangers awaiting them. 

They once more set sail, but they had not proceeded 
far on their course, when they lieard a fearful crash. 
15^ 



174 



HAND BOOK OF MYTHOLOOY, 



This was caused by the meeting of two immense rocks 
called the Sympleg'ades, which floated about in the sea, 
and constantly met and separated, crushing everything 
that came between them. Phineus had told the heroes 
to let loose a dove, and if it ventured to fly through they 
might safely follow. The bird passed swiftly, but lost 
some of the feathers of her tail, so quickly did the rocks 
reunite. Seizing the moment when they separated, the 
Argonauts, aided by Hera, worked vigorously at the oars 
and achieved the perilous passage in safety. The rocks 
then became immovable, for it had been decreed they 
should if any vessel passed through in safety. 

The Capture of the Golden Fleece. 

After a prosperous course along the Asiatic coast, 
the Argo entered the harbor of Colchis. Jason filled a 
golden cup with wine and offered a libation to mother- 
earth, the gods of the country, and the shades of those of 
the heroes that had died on the voyage. It was decided 
that Jason, with a few chosen companions, should pro- 
ceed to the royal palace, leaving the remainder of the 
crew to guard the Argo. 

Jason informed ^etes of the cause of his visit, and that 
monarch promised to relinquish the Golden Fleece if 
Jason would perform the tasks which he should set for 
him. The first was to harness to a plough two brazen- 
footed, fire-breathing bulls which ^etes had received 
from Hephaestus, and with them to till an uncultivated 
field. The second was to sow in it the teeth of the ser- 
pent killed by Cadmus, some of which Athene had given 
to ^etes ; and, finall}^ to overcome the armed crop 
which should spring up. 

Jason was in great perplexity when he heard these 
conditions. He went to the temple of Hecate to suppli- 
cate that mighty goddess, and was met there by Mede^a, 



THE ARGONAUTIC EXPEDITION, 175 

daughter of ^etes, and a great enchantress, who had 
fallen in love with him the instant she beheld him. She 
promised her assistance in the dangers which threatened 
him, and her powerful help in accomplishing his glorious 
undertaking, provided he would swear fidelity to her. 
Jason took the required oath, and Medea gave him a 
magic salve, which possessed the propertj^ of rendering 
any person anointed with it invulnerable for one day. 
She instructed him to also anoint his spear and shield, 
and gave him a stone which he was to cast among the 
warriors that would spring up from the dragon's teeth, 
and also a potion for lulling to sleep the dragon that 
guarded the Golden Fleece. 

On the following day, Jason, surrounded by his com- 
panions, appeared on the field of Ares in the presence 
of the king and a multitude of people. The bulls rushed 
upon him, but the powerful charm with which Medea 
had armed him suddenly made them tame and obedient. 
Without resistance, they bent their necks under the yoke, 
permitting Jason to put them to the plough, and quietly 
made the furrows into which he sowed the dragon's teeth. 
Armed men sprung up, but Jason, remembering the in- 
structions of Medea, hurled amidst them the stone she 
had given him, and they immediately attacked each other. 
The ground was soon covered with their slain bodies. 

^etes not only refused to give Jason the Fleece which 
he had so bravely earned, but he determined to destroy 
all the Argonauts and to burn their vessel. 

Becoming aware of the treacherous designs of her 
father, Medea, in the darkness of the night, went on 
board the Argo and warned the heroes of their approach- 
mg danger. She then advised Jason to accompany her 
without loss of time to the sacred grove, in order to 
secure the coveted treasure. They set out together ; 
Medea led the way, and they advanced boldly into the 
grove. The tall oak-tree was soon discovered, from the 



176 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



topmost boughs of which hung the Golden Fleece. At 
the foot of this tree, keeping his ever-wakeful watch, 
lay the dreadful sleepless dragon, who at sight of them 
bounded forward. 

Medea, quietly approaching the monster, threw over 
him a few drops of a potion, which soon took eflfect and 
lulled him to sleep, whereupon Jason, seizing the oppor- 
tunit}^ climbed the tree and secured the Fleece. Their 
perilous task being now accomplished, Jason and Medea 
hastened on board the Argo, which immediately put to 
sea. 

^etes soon discovered the flight of his daughter, and 
attempted to overtake the fugitives, but Medea slew her 
young brother, Absyr^tus, whom she had taken with 
her, and scattered his limbs in the sea. Her father 
stopped to collect the remains of his unfortunate son, 
and the Argonauts quietly proceeded on their voyage. 

As the Argonauts were sailing by the Absyrtian 
islands, they were assailed by a storm, and a voice was 
heard from the plank which had been taken from the 
speaking oak of Dodona, " You are not destined to reach 
your home until Jason and Medea are absolved from the 
murder of Absyrtus. They accordingly steered for the 
island of ^^^a, where dwelt Circe, a famous enchant- 
ress and aunt to Medea. By her they were purified, 
but she severely reprimanded them for the horrible mur- 
der of which they had been guilty. 

The Argo at length arrived safely at lolcus, and Jason 
deUvered the Golden Fleece to his uncle. Pelias, how- 
ever, still refused to surrender the throne to Jason, and 
Medea determined to destroy him. Having persuaded 
the daughters of Pelias that she possessed the power of 
making the old young again, she directed them to slay 
their father, cut him in pieces, and boil the limbs in a 
cauldron ; this they did in the vain expectation of seeing 
him restored to youth. 



THE TROJAN WAR, 



177 



Medea and Jason fled to Corinth, where they lived hap- 
pily for ten years. At length Jason wearied of her, and 
was about to marry Creu^sa, the daughter of the king. 
Medea concealed her rage, and sent a splendid robe as a 
present to the bride ; but it was poisoned, and caused 
the death of Creusa. 

Medea then murdered her two children, after which 
she fled to Athens in her chariot drawn by winged 
dragons, and found protection at the court of ^geus. 
Jason either put an end to his own life or was killed by 
the fall of a beam from the Argo. 

"The Argonautic Expedition, 1263 B. c, forms a 
memorable epoch in the Grecian history, a sort of sepa- 
ration point between the fabulous and the authentic. 
Various explanations have been given. One writer 
thinks the Golden Fleece was the raw silk of the East. 
Another asserts that the phrase arose from the habit of 
collecting gold washed down from the mountains, by 
putting sheepskins in the channels of the streams." 

Seemann says : ' ' The story of the Argonauts was 
originally only a Thessalian myth based on natural phe- 
nomena, but in the hands of the poets it swelled to a 
mass of legends common to all the tribes of Greece. By 
the Golden Fleece was meant the sunlight, Phryxus per- 
sonified a rain-shower, and Helle a ray of light." 

The Trojan War, 

Troy, or irion, was the capital of a kingdom in Asia 
Minor, situated near the Hellespont^ It was founded by 
Flus, a son of Tros, who was a descendant of Zeus and 
Electra, one of the Pleiades. Tros had three sons, Flus, 
Assar^acus, and Ganymedes. The last was carried off by 
Zeus to be his cup-bearer. Assaracus was the grand- 
father of ^neas, son of Anehises and Aphrodite. 

M 



178 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



Ilus was directed by the oracle to follow a spotted cow, 
and build a town where she should lie down. He fol- 
lowed the cow until she came to the hill of Ate^to (Mis- 
chief), where he built the town named Ilion, from him- 
self, and Troy from his father. He prayed to Zeus to 
bestow upon him some sign of favor. The next morning 
he found in front of his tent the celebrated Palla'dium — 
an image of Pallas Athene carved in wood, and the 
oracle declared that the safety of Troy depended upon 
its preservation. 

After the death of Ilus, his son Laom'edon became 
king of Troy, and he was succeeded by Priam, who was 
king at the time of the Trojan War. He was married 
to He^'uba, and the most renowned of their children 
were the valiant Hec^tor, the prophetess Cassan^dra, 
and Paris, the cause of the Trojan war. 

When Paris was born, it was predicted that he would 
prove the ruin of his country ; and the soothsayer recom- 
mended that he should be exposed on the mountain, to 
perish. This was accordingly done ; but the servant who 
had left him, found five days later that a bear had taken 
car€ of the infant. Surprised at the incident, he took 
the child, named him Paris, and reared him as his own 
?on. Paris afterwards distinguished himself by his 
strength and courage in repelling robbers from the 
flocks, and the shepherds then gave him the name of 
Alexander (man-aider). He married the nymph CEno'ne,"^ 
whom Ehea had taught prophecy. It was about this 
time that Paris gave his famous decision in favor of the 
beauty of Aphrodite. 

Soon after this event, Priam proposed a contest among 
his sons and other princes, promising to reward the con- 
queror with one of the finest bulls from Mount Ida. On 
sending to procure the animal, it was found in the pos- 



*Read Tennyson's CEnone." 



THE TROJAN WAR, 



179 



session of Paris, who reluctantly allowed it to be taken 
away. Desirous of recovering his favorite, he went to 
Troy, and entered the list of combatants. 

Paris proved successful, and gained advantage over 
Hector himself. A strife followed, which would have 
ended in bloodshed but for the appearance of Cassandra, 
who told them that the young shepherd was their brother 
Paris. Priam acknowledged his son, the prediction was 
forgotten, and Paris enjoyed all the privileges of a prince 
of Troy. 

Hesione, sister of Priam, had been carried away cap- 
tive by Heracles, and given in marriage to TeFamon. 
Although she lived happily with her husband, her 
brother Priam had never ceased to regret her loss, and 
it was now proposed that Paris should take the com- 
mand of an expedition to demand the restoration of 
Hesione. 

Under the command of Paris, the fleet set sail, and 
arrived safely in Greece. Arriving at Sparta, where 
Menela'us, the husband of Helen, was reigning, he met 
with a hospitable reception. Menelaus soon after sailed 
to Crete ; Paris availed himself of his absence, gained 
the affections of Helen, and bore her away to his native 
city. 

Helen was the daughter of Zeus and Leda, and the 
loveliest woman of her time. The fame of her beauty 
drew many kings to the court of Tynda^reus, her foster- 
father, in the hope of obtaining her as a wife. Tynda- 
reus feared that, as she could be given to but one of the 
suitors, the pretended friendship of the others might 
change to hatred and revenge, which might be danger- 
ous to him. At length Odys^seus (IJlys^ses) offered to 
relieve him from his embarrassment if Tyndareus would 
obtain for him the hand of Penel ope. Tyndareus gladly 
consented, and Ulysses then told him to exact an oath 
from all the suitors that, in case of any violence or injury 



180 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



being offered to the successful candidate, they would all 
aid in procuring satisfaction. The hand of Helen was 
then bestowed upon Menelaus. 

Preparations for the War. 

Ambassadors were sent to Priam to demand the resti- 
tution of Helen, and in consequence of his refusal, the 
kings of Greece formed a coalition, swearing to over- 
throw the city of Troy. A powerful army was collected, 
from which few names of note were missing. Only in 
the case of two great heroes did Menelaus experience 
any difficulty. 

Ulysses, famed for his wisdom, was at this time living 
happily at Ithaca with his fair young wife Penelope and 
his little son Telem'a^hus, and was unwilling to leave 
his happy home for a perilous foreign expedition of un- 
certain duration. Hearing that Palame'des had come 
to summon him to the field, he pretended to be insane. 
He yoked a horse and a bull together, and began plough- 
ing the sands of the sea-shore, sowing salt instead of 
grain. Palamedes caused the infant Telemachus to be 
laid before the plough, and the manner in which the 
father hastened to remove the child convinced every one 
that his insanity was feigned. He was therefore obliged 
to join the expedition against Troy, but he never forgave 
Palamedes for having exposed the stratagem. 

Achilles was the son of Peleus and the sea-goddess 
The^tis, who is said to have dipped her son, when a 
babe, in the river Styx, and thereby rendered him invul- 
nerable, except in the right heel, by which she held him. 
CaK^has, the soothsayer, had declared that Troy could 
not be taken without the aid of Achilles. Thetis, who 
was aware that her son was destined to perish if he 
joined the expedition, disguised him in female attire, 
and concealed him among the daughters of King Ly- 



THE TROJAN WAR. 



181 



^omeMes, on the isle of Sgy^ros. Ulysses was sent to dis- 
cover his retreat, and did so by stratagem. Attired as 
a traveling merchant, he presented himself at the court 
of Lycomedes, and displayed before the queen and her 
maidens various ornaments, among which he had placed 
some arms. By the order of Ulysses, a trumpet was sud- 
denly blown, when the disguised Achilles betrayed him- 
self by seizing the armor. The young warrior was then 
induced to accompany the Greeks to Troy. 

The troops, numbering a hundred thousand, assembled 
at Aulis, in Boeotia. In the bay were a thousand ships. 
The command of this mighty host was intrusted to 
Agamem^non, king of Mycense, the most powerful of all 
the Greek princes. The army offered a solemn sacrifice, 
during which a serpent appeared and devoured nine lit- 
tle birds in their nest, and afterward the mother. Cal- 
chas predicted from this incident that the siege would 
last ten years. 

IPHIGENI'A. 

The fleet lay a long time in the harbor waiting for a 
fair wind. Just as the expedition was about to start, 
Agamemnon had the misfortune to kill a hind sacred 
to Artemis, who, in her anger, sent continuous calms, 
which prevented the fleet from Setting sail. Cal- 
chas, on being consulted, announced that the sacri- 
fice of Iphigeni^a, the daughter of Agamemnon, would 
alone appease the incensed goddess. For a long time 
the unhappy father refused to listen to all argu- 
ments, but at length the other generals succeeded in 
persuading him that it was his dut}^ to make the sacri- 
fice. He accordingly despatched a messenger to his wife, 
Clytemnaes^tra, begging her to send Iphigenia to him, 
alleging, as a pretext, that the hero Achilles desired to 
make her his wife. Rejoicing at the brilliant destiny 
which awaited her beautiful daughter, the mother obeyed, 
16 



182 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



and sent the maiden to Aulis. When she was about to 
be sacrificed, Artemis substituted a hind, and conveyed 
Iphigenia to Tauris, where she became a priestess in the 
temple of tlie goddess. 

The Departure of the Fleet. 

The fleet now sailed with a fair wind. The expedi- 
tion first stopped at Tenedos, opposite the coast of Troy. 
Here, Philocte'tes, who possessed the bow and arrows 
of Heracles, on which the conquest of Troy depended, 
was bitten on the foot by a serpent, and, on account of 
his cries and the offensive odor of the wound, was car- 
ried to Lemnos, and there left to his fate. 

The Commencement of Hostilities. 

Having received intelligence of the impending inva- 
sion of their country, the Trojans sought the assistance 
of the neighboring states, who all gallantly responded to 
their call for help, and thus ample preparations were 
made to receive the enemy. King Priam being too 
advanced in years for active service, the command of 
the army devolved upon his eldest son, the brave Hector. 

At the approach of the Greek fleet, the Trojans ap- 
peared on the coast to prevent their landing. But great - 
hesitation prevailed among the troops as to who should 
be the first to set foot on the enemy's soil, it having been 
predicted that the one who did so would fall a sacrifice. 
Protesila'us, however, disregarding the prediction, leaped 
OD shore, and fell by the hand of Hector. 

The Greeks then succeeded in effecting a landing, and 
in the engagement which ensued the Trojans were sig- 
nally defeated, and driven within the walls of the city. 
With Achilles at their head, the Greeks now made an 
attempt to take the city by storm, but they were repulsed 
with terrible loss. After this defeat, the invaders, fore- 



THE TROJAN WAR, 



183 



seeing a long campaign, drew up their ships on land, 
erected tents, etc., and formed an intrenched camp on 
the coast. 

In this war the celestials took part. In favor of the 
Greeks were Hera (Juno), Pallas Athene (Minerva), 
Poseidon (Neptune), Hephaestus (Yulcan), and Hermes 
(Mercury). On the side of the Trojans were Zeus (Ju- 
piter), Apollo, Artemis (Diana), and Aphrodite (Venus). 

Several attacks on the town being repelled by the Tro- 
jans, the Greeks confined themselves to making plunder- 
ing excursions into the surrounding country, in which 
Achilles was always the most prominent actor. The 
wearisome monotony of the siege for the first nine years 
was broken only by the single combat between Achilles 
and Tro ilus, the youngest son of Priam, in which Tro- 
ilus was slain, and by the death of Palamedes, which was 
caused by the treachery of Ulysses. 

The Wrath of Achilles. 

At length, in the tenth year of the war, a quarrel 
broke out between Achilles and Agamemnon respecting 
a female slave that had been taken captive. Achilles, in 
his wrath, retired to his tent, and refused to take any 
further part in the war, while the Trojans, who feared 
him more than all the other Greeks, became bolder, and 
no longer kept within the walls. Zeus, at the request 
of Thetis, gave them the victory in their first engage- 
ment with the Greeks. Hector drove the latter back to 
their ships, and was about to set them on fire, when 
Achilles consented to allow his friend Pat^roclus to wear 
his armor, and lead his Myr^midons to the assistance of 
the Greeks. The Trojans were now driven back, but 
Patroclus, in the ardor of pursuit, was slain by Hector 
and deprived of the armor. Menelaus, with the assist- 
ance of the Greater A^jax and other heroes, succeeded in 



184 BAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



rescuing his corpse only after a severe and obstinate 
struggle. The wrath of Achilles was now entirely di- 
verted by the desire to avenge on Hector the death of 
his much-loved friend, Patroclus. Thetis brought him 
new armor from the workshop of Hephsestus. 

The Death of Hector. 

Achilles became reconciled to Agamemnon, and re- 
joined the Greek army. Arrayed in his new armor, he 
led the troops against the enemy, who were defeated and 
put to flight, until, near the gates of the city, Achilles 
and Hector encountered each other. Hector was slain, 
and his body dragged at the chariot wheels of Achilles 
three times around the walls of Troy, and then thrown into 
the dust within the Greek camp. The gods, indignant 
at the ferocious anger of Achilles, cared for the body of 
Hector by preserving it from corruption. Moved at last 
by the supplications of Priam, who came to beg the body 
of his son, Achilles surrendered the corpse, and the Tro- 
jans celebrated the obsequies of him who had been the 
hope and stay of Troy. 

Penthesile'a. 

Immediately after Hector's death, Penthesilea, the 
queen of the Amazons, came to the assistance of the 
Trojans, and fought bravely at the head of her army of 
female warriors. Achilles slew her, but restored her 
body to the Trojans. 

The Death of Mem'non. 

Memnon was the son of Eos (Aurora) and Tithonus. 
He was king of the Ethiopians, and came with his war- 
riors to assist the kindred of his father. King Priam 
received him with great honors. The day after his ar- 



THE TROJAN WAR, 



185 



rival, Memnon led his troops to the field. Antirochus, 
the brave son of ]S'estor, fell by his hand, and the Greeks 
were put to flight, when Achilles appeared, and restored 
the battle. A long and doubtful contest ensued ; at 
length Memnon fell, and the Trojans fled in dismay. 
When Aurora saw him fall, she directed his brothers, 
the Winds, to convey his body to Paphlagonia. In the 
evening she came, accompanied by the Hours and Plei- 
ades, and wept and lamented over her son. Night, in 
sympathy with her grief, spread the heavens with clouds. 
The Ethiopians raised his tomb in the grove of the 
Nymphs. Zeus caused the sparks and cinders of his 
funeral pyre to be turned into birds, which fight con- 
tinually over the tomb of Memnon.* Eos remains incon- 
solable for the loss of her son. Her tears still flow, and 
may be seen at early morning, in the form of dew-drops, 
on the grass. 

The Death of Achilles. 

The triumph of Achilles was not of long duration. In 
an assault on the Sceean gate, Achilles was killed by an 
arrow of Paris, which was directed by Apollo. A furious 
contest, lasting a whole day, took place for the possession 
of his corpse and armor. Ulysses and Ajax succeeded in 
conveying it to a place of safety. Mourning and con- 
fusion reigned among the Greeks at the death of Achilles. 
During seventeen days and nights, Thetis, with the whole 
band of Nere^ides, bewailed his untimely fate in such 



* On the banks of the river Nile, in Egypt, are two colossal stat- 
ues, one of which is said to be the statue of Memnon. Ancient 
writers record that when the first rays of the rising sun fall upon 
this statue, a sound, like the breaking of a harpstring, is heard to 
issue from it. Sir Gardner Wilkinson examined the statue, and 
discovered it to be hollow, and that " in the lap is a stone, which, 
on being struck, emits a metallic sound, that might still be made 
use of to deceive a visitor who was predisposed to believe its powers." 
16* 



186 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



mournful melodies that neither gods nor men could re- 
frain from tears. 

The death of the bravest of the Greeks was followed 
by a quarrel between Ajax and Ulysses respecting his 
armor. It was finally adjudged to Ulysses. The un- 
fortunate Ajax lost his reason, and put an end to his 
existence. 

Final Measures. 

Soon after this the Greeks captured the Trojan seer, 
HeFenus, a son of Priam, and extorted from him the 
secret that Troy could not be taken without the arrows 
of Heracles, the assistance of Keoptolemus, son of 
Achilles, and the possession of the Palladium. 

The arrows of Heracles were in the possession of 
Philoctetes, who had remained on the island of Lemnos, 
his wound still unhealed, suffering abject misery. Ulys- 
ses and Diomedes were sent to Lemnos for Philoctetes, 
whose wound was then healed by Macha^on, a son of 
^scula^pius. 

In an engagement which took place soon after, he 
mortally wounded Paris. Death did not immediately 
ensue, and remembering the prediction of the oracle, 
that only his deserted wife, (Enone, could cure him if 
wounded, Paris caused himself to be taken to her on 
Mount Ida. CEnone sternly bade him depart, but after- 
wards her tenderness revived, and with frantic haste she 
followed him. On her arrival in Troy she beheld the 
burning pyre of Paris, and in her despair she threw her- 
self on the lifeless form of her husband, and perished in 
the flames. 

Odysseus repaired to the island of Scyros, where he 
found I^^eoptolemus, the son of Achilles. Having suc- 
ceeded in rousing the ambition of the youth, he resigned 
to him the armor of his father, and conveyed him to the 
Greek camp. He immediately distinguished himself in 



THE TROJAN WAR. 



187 



single combat with Euryp^ylus, a grandson of Heracles, 
who had come to aid the Trojans. 

The third and most difficult condition being unfulfilled, 
all efforts to take the city were unavailing. Ulysses and 
Diomedes accomplished the perilous task of stealing the 
Palladium, on which the safety of the city depended. 
Ulysses then devised the celebrated wooden horse and 
the stratagem which led to the capture of the city. In 
the horse, which was built by the sculptor Epe'us, one 
hundred chosen Greek warriors concealed themselves. 
The rest of the Greeks set fire to their camp, and sailed 
away to Tenedos. 

The Destruction of Troy. 

When the Trojans saw the enemy depart and the 
Greek camp in flames, they believed themselves safe, 
and great numbers went out of the town to view the 
site of the Greek encampment. They found the wooden 
horse, which they examined with curiosity. 

The crafty Odysseus had left his trusty friend Si^non 
with full instructions as to his course of action. He now 
approached King Priam with fettered hands, alleging 
that the Greeks, in obedience to the command of an 
oracle, had attempted to immolate him as a sacrifice, 
but that he had contrived to escape, and now sought 
protection from the king. 

The monarch, believing his story, released his bonds, 
and then begged him to explain the meaning of the 
wooden horse. Sinon declared that Pallas Athene was 
so deeply offended at the removal of her sacred image, 
the Palladium, from her temple in Troy, that she had 
refused all further aid to the Greeks until it was restored 
to its place ; hence the Greeks had returned home in 
order to seek fresh instructions from an oracle. Calchas 
had advised building this gigantic horse as a tribute to 
the ofiended goddess, hoping to appease her anger. 



188 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



The Trojans urged that it should be taken into the 
city without delay. In vain did Lao^^oou, priest of 
Apollo, seek to divert them from their folly. None 
would listen to his warnings ; and when, soon afterwards, 
he and his two sons were destroyed by two serpents that 
came up out of the sea, the Trojans regarded this as a 
punishment sent by the gods for his evil counsel, and 
were the more confirmed in their purpose. 

The gates being too low to admit the horse, a breach 
was made in the walls, and it was conveyed in triumph 
into the heart of the city. The Trojans, believing that 
the siege had been abandoned, and that they now had a 
sacred object in the place of the Palladium, abandoned 
themselves to festivities, until, exhausted, they were 
sunk in deep sleep. 

The Greek fleet quietly approached the shore at a 
signal from Sinon. The heroes who were hidden in the 
horse descended and opened the gates to the Greek host, 
who rushed into the doomed city. A terrible scene of 
plunder and carnage ensued, the Trojans, in their dis- 
may and confusion, offering no resistance. Priam per- 
ished before the altar of Zeus. The men were put to 
death ; the women and children, with the rich booty, 
were carried olf, the former being destined to a lot of 
slavery. Among them was the aged queen Hecuba, 
with all her daughters and daughters-in-law. Helen, 
the cause of all this misfortune, professed penitence, 
was received by Menelaus, and returned with him to 
Greece. 

The tradition of the siege remained among the inhab- 
itants of the country, though even in Eoman times 
learned men had begun to declare that ''Old Troy" 
must have had another site. Kow, when the very exist- 
ence of Homer's Troy had been declared a fable, the 
palace and the traces of the conflagration have been 
found. Dr. Schliemann has excavated the legendary 



THE RETURN OF THE GREEKS FROM TROY, 189 

site. We can scarcely tell at present the full importance 
of these discoveries. 

Professor Max Miiller says, "the siege of Troy is a 
repetition of the daily siege of the East by the solar 
powers that every evening are robbed of their brightest 
treasures in the West." 

''The great conflict of the Iliad is the battle of the 
powers of Hght and darkness. Paris represents the 
night fighting with the children of day." 

"That the story of the Trojan war is almost wholly 
mythical, has been conceded by even the most obstinate 
champions of Homeric unity. That it contains some few 
grains of actual history is all they venture to urge." — 
Cox, 

The Return of the Greeks from 
Troy. 

The Greeks, after sacrificing Polyx^ena, a daughter of 
Priam, on the grave of Achilles, prepared to return to 
their country. In consequence of the acts of desecration 
and cruelty of which they had been guilty during the de- 
struction of Troy, the wrath of the gods was roused, for 
which reason their homeward voyage was beset with 
manifold disasters, and many perished. 

Agamemnon, after escaping a storm, landed safely on 
his native shores, accompanied by Cassandra, who, in 
vain, warned him of his impending fate. During his 
absence, his wife, Clytemnsestra, had married ^gis^- 
thus. She received Agamemnon with every mark of 
aifection, but at the banquet given in the evening to 
celebrate his safe return, he and his companions were 
massacred. Their death was afterwards avenged by 
Orestes.* 



*See page 62. 



190 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



Menelaus having become reconciled to Helen embarked 
with her, but their vessel was driven by violent tempests 
to the coast of Egypt. After eight years of wanderings, 
they finally reached their home. 

Ajax, the Lo'crian, had offended Pallas Athene by 
desecrating her temple on the night of the destruction 
of Troy. He was shipwrecked, and as he grasped a rock 
to save himself, Poseidon split it with a blow of his tri- 
dent, and precipitated him into the waves, where he 
perished. 

Odys'Seus, or Ulys'SES. 

The hardest fate befell Odysseus. With his twelve ships 
laden with treasures captured from Troy, Odysseus set 
sail for Ithaca. On doubling Cape Malea, in Laconia, 
he encountered a violent north-east wind, which drove 
him along the sea till he reached the land of the Lo^tus- 
eaters, westward from Libya. His men, who went on 
shore, were kindly received and given some of the 
lotus plant to eat. The effect of this food was such that 
those who partook of it lost all thought of home. Odys- 
seus was obliged to drag them away and fasten them to 
the benches of the ship. 

They next arrived at the country of the Cyclopes. The 
name means "round eye," and these giants were so 
called because they had but one eye, and that was 
placed in the middle of the forehead. 

Odysseus left his fleet at anchor, and with twelve 
chosen companions set out to explore the country, car- 
rying with them a jar of wine, i^ear the shore they 
found a vast cave, which they entered. They found it 
stored with quantities of cheese, pails of milk, lambs and 
kids in their pens. Presently Polyphe'mus, a son of 
Poseidon, and master of the cave, arrived, bearing an 
enormous load of wood on his shoulders, and driving 
before him a large flock of sheep. Entering the cave, 



THE RETURN OF THE GREEKS FROM TROY. 191 

he rolled to its mouth an enormous rock that twenty 
oxen could not have drawn. 

Having kindled a fire, he discerned the strangers and 
demanded who they were, and where they were from. 
Odysseus informed him they were shipwrecked mari- 
ners, and claimed his hospitality in the name of Zeus. 
Polyphemus deigned no reply, but reaching out his 
hand he seized two of the Greeks, dashed out their 
brains and then devoured them with great relish. He 
then stretched himself on the floor, and soon fell asleep 
before the fire. 

Odysseus drew his sword and was about to slay the 
giant when he remembered that the rock with which 
the cave was closed was far beyond their power to 
remove, and that they would therefore be in hopeless 
imprisonment. 

ISText morning two more of the Greeks were despatched 
as their companions had been the night before. Poly- 
phemus then moved away the rock from the entrance, 
drove out his flocks, and went out, carefully replacing 
the barrier after him. He came home at evening, rolled 
away the stone, and drove in his flocks as usual. After 
milking them and making his arrangements as before, he 
seized two more of his prisoners and made his evening 
meal upon them. Odysseus then approached and handed 
him a bowl of wine, saying, ^'Cyclops, this is wine ; taste 
and drink after thy meal of man's flesh." Delighted 
with the delicious beverage, he called for more, and was 
again supplied. The giant was so much pleased, that 
he promised to allow Odysseus to be the last to be 
devoured. He asked his name, to which Odysseus re- 
plied, Outis " (Koman). 

After his supper, the giant lay down to repose, and 
soon fell into a heavy sleep. Then Odysseus and his 
companions thrust into the fire the end of a stake which 
they had already sharpened. When it was red hot, they 



192 HAND BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



thrust it into the eye of Polyphemus and effectually 
blinded hini. His cries being heard by the other Cy- 
clopes dwelling in caves not far distant, they flocked 
around his den and inquired the cause of his outcry. 
He replied, "O friends, I die, and Koman gives the 
blow." They answered, " If no man hurts thee, it is the 
stroke of Jove, and thou must bear it." So saying, 
they left him. 

^N'ext morning Polyphemus rolled away the stone to 
let his flocks out to pasture, but stationed himself in 
the door of the cave to feel of all as they went out, 
that Odysseus and his men should not escape with 
them. But the subtlety of the hero proved more than 
a match for the giant's strength. The sheep were very 
large, and Odysseus, with bands of willow, had linked 
them together three abreast, and under each centre one 
had secured one of his companions, Odysseus himself 
being on the last one. As the sheep passed out the giant 
felt carefully among them for his victims, but not find- 
ing them on the backs of the animals he let them pass, 
and thus they escaped. 

The Grreeks now hastened aboard their vessel, taking 
a good part of the flock with them. Thinking himself 
at a safe distance, Odysseus shouted out his real name, 
whereupon Polyphemus seized a huge rock, and follow- 
ing the direction of the voice, hurled it towards the ship, 
which narrowly escaped destruction. 

Odysseus next arrived at the island of ^51us, to 
whom Zeus had intrusted the command of the winds. 
He treated the Greeks hospitably, and at their departure 
gave Odysseus a leather bag tied with a silver string, 
into which he had placed all the contrary winds, and 
then, having cautioned him on no account to open it, 
he caused the gentle winds to blow the barks towards 
their own country'. 

Nine days they sailed before the wind, all that time 



THE RETURN OF THE GREEKS FROM TROY. 193 



Odysseus had stood at the hehii without sleep. At last, 
quite exhausted, he lay down to sleep. His comrades, 
thinking ^olus had given hira a treasure in the bag 
which he so sedulously guarded, seized this opportunity 
and opened it to secure some portion for themselves. 
Immediately the adverse winds rushed out and drove 
them back to the ^olian island, ^olus refused to 
assist them further, and they were obliged to labor over 
their course once more by means of their oars. 

The next adventure was with the barbarous tribe of 
Lsestrygo'nians. The vessels entered the harbor, Odys- 
seus alone moored his vessel outside. As soon as the 
Leestrygonians found the ships completely in their power 
they attacked them, hurling huge rocks, which sunk 
eleven of the ships with all on board. Odysseus, find- 
ing no safety but in flight, exhorted his men to ply their 
oars vigorously, and they escaped. 

They pursued their way till they arrived at the island 
of ^ae^a, where dwelt Cir^ce, the daughter of the sun. 
Landing here, Odysseus sent one-half of his crew under 
the command of Euryroehus, to see what prospect of 
hospitality they might find. They soon came to a mag- 
nificent marble palace, which was situated in a charming 
and fertile valley. Here dwelt the beautiful enchantress 
Circe. The entrance to her abode was guarded by wolves 
and lions, which, however, to the great surprise of the 
strangers, were tame and harmless as lambs. All these 
animals had once been men, but had been changed by 
Circe's enchantments into the forms of beasts. The 
sounds of soft music were heard from within. Euryl- 
ochus called aloud, and the goddess came forward and 
invited them to enter. They all gladly entered except 
Eurylochus, who suspected danger. The sorceress had 
her guests served with wine and delicacies. When they 
had feasted heartily, she touched them one by one with 
her wand, and they became changed into swine in 
17 N 



194 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



''head, body, voice, and brivStles," yet with their intel- 
lects as before. 

When Odysseus heard from Eurylochus of the terrible 
fate which had befallen his companions, he resolved to 
make an effort to rescue them. As he strode onward 
alone, he met a youth who addressed him familiarly, 
and announced himself as Hermes. He informed Odys- 
seus of the danger of approaching Circe, gave him a 
sprig of the plant Moly, and instructed him how to act. 
Odysseus proceeded, and reaching the palace was cour- 
teously received by Circe, who entertained him as she 
had his companions, and then touched him with her 
wand, saying, " Hence, seek the sty and wallow with 
thy friends." Instead of obeying, he drew his sword 
and rushed toward her. She fell on her knees and 
begged for mercy. He dictated a solemn oath that she 
would release his companions and practise no further 
sorceries against him or them. She promised to dismiss 
them all in safety after hospitably entertaining them. 

The men were restored to their shapes, the rest of the 
crew summoned from the shore, and all magnificently 
entertained day after day until Odysseus seemed to have 
forgotten his native land. At length his companions 
induced him to pursue their homeward voyage, and 
Circe instructed them how to pass safely by the coast 
of the Sirens. She warned him that his future would be 
beset by many dangers, and commanded him to consult 
the blind old seer Tiresias, in the realm of Aides, con- 
cerning his future destiny. She then loaded his ship 
with provisions, and reluctantly bade him farewell. 

Though somewhat appalled at the prospect of seeking 
the gloomy realm inhabited by the shades of the dead, 
Odysseus obeyed the directions he had received. 
Favored by gentle breezes they soon reached their 
destination in the far west. On arriving at the spot 
indicated by Circe, where the waters of the rivers 



THE RETURN OF THE GREEKS FROM TROT. 195 

Ach^eron and Cocy^tus mingled at the entrance to the 
lower world, Odysseus landed unattended by his com- 
panions. 

Having dug a trench to receive the blood of the sacri- 
fices, he offered a black ram and ewe to the powers of 
darkness. Crowds of shades rose up from the yawning 
gulf, eager to quaff the blood of the sacrifice which 
would restore to them for a time their mental vigor. 
Eemembering the injunction of Circe, Odysseus bran- 
dished his sword and allowed none to approach until 
Tiresias had appeared. The great prophet, after drinking 
of the sacrifice, proceeded to warn the hero of the numer- 
ous perils that would assail him, not only during his 
homeward voyage, but also on his return to Ithaca, 
and instructed him how to avoid them. 

Tiresias having retired, Odysseus allowed the other 
shades to approach. Among them he recognized his 
mother. From her he learned that she had died of 
grief at her son's protracted absence, and that his aged 
father, Laer^tes, was wearing his life away in anxious 
longings for his return. He also conversed with Aga- 
memnon, Patroclus, and Achilles. At last so many 
shades came round him, that the courage of Odysseus 
failed, and he fled in terror back to his ship. Having 
rejoined his companions, they once more put to sea and 
returned to ^sea, where they spent one day with Circe. 
They then took a final leave of her, and in a few days 
approached the island of the Sirens. Odysseus filled the 
ears of his men with wax, after having given directions 
that they should bind him firmly to the mast, and on 
no account to release him until they were out of sight 
of the island. 

The Sirens, when they heard the dashing of the oars, 
raised their song in praise of Odysseus. He struggled 
to free himself, but his comrades bound him still faster, 
and he alone heard the song of the Sirens and escaped. 



196 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



They now approached the terrible dangers of Scyria 
and -Gharyb^dis. Scylla was once a beautiful maiden, 
and was changed into a snaky monster by Circe. She 
had six heads, each of which took a man out of every 
ship that passed. It was said Charybdis had been an 
avaricious woman, and was changed into a whirlpool, 
which three times a day absorbed and regorged the 
water. 

While Odysseus and his men were endeavoring to 
avoid Charybdis, Scylla seized six of them. At length 
they reached the island of Trinacria (Sicily), where the 
sun-god pastured his flocks and herds. Odysseus had 
been warned by both Tiresias and Circe to avoid this 
island. He urged his companions to pass it, but they 
insisted upon landing for the night, and took an oath 
that they w^ould not touch the sacred cattle. During 
the night the wind changed, and they were detained on 
the island a month. Their provisions were all con- 
sumed, and they lived on what fish and birds they 
could catch. One day, in the absence of Odysseus, they 
slew some of the cattle, vainly attempting to make amends 
for the deed by oflfering a portion of them to the offended 
powers. Odysseus was horrified at what they had done, 
especially on account of the portentous signs which fol- 
lowed. The skins crept on the ground, and the joints of 
meat lowed on the spits while roasting. 

After feasting for seven days they set sail, but were 
overtaken by a terrible storm. The ship was struck by 
lightning and went to pieces. All the crew perished, 
Odysseus alone was saved. Clinging to a mast, he 
floated about in the open sea for nine days. He once 
more escaped from Charybdis, and on the tenth day 
was cast ashore on the island of Ogygla. 

Ogygia was the abode of Calyp'so, a daughter of Atlas. 
She received the hero hospitably, and wished to bestow 
upon him immortality and make him her husband, but 



THE RETURN OF THE GREEKS FROM TROY. 197 



he longed to return to his wife Penelope. After having 
been detained on the island seven years, he was re- 
leased by the command of Zeus. Calypso supplied Odys- 
seus with the means to construct a raft, and gave him 
clothing and provisions. His course was prosperous for 
many days ; but Poseidon, still enraged at the hero, who 
had blinded and insulted his son, caused a tempest to 
arise, during which the raft was destroyed. He floated 
about for two days and nights, but at last the sea god- 
dess, Leuco^thea, aided him, and he was cast ashore on 
the island of S-eheria, the home of the Phaea^cians. He 
crept into a thicket, and lying down on some dried leaves 
soon fell asleep. 

Nausi^caa, the beautiful daughter of the king, Alcin^- 
ous, and his queen, Are^te, had come down to the shore, 
accompanied by her maidens, to wash the linen which 
was to form part of her marriage portion. When they 
had finished their task, they bathed and sat down to a 
repast, after which they amused themselves with singing 
and playing ball. Their joyous clamor awoke the sleep- 
ing hero, and coming forth he implored the protection of 
the princess. She gave him food and clothes and directed 
him to follow her to the town. 

Odysseus was cordially received by the king and queen, 
and in return for their kindness he related to them the 
history of his long and eventful voyage. "When he at 
last took leave of his royal host and hostess, Alcinous 
loaded him with rich gifts, and ordered him to be con- 
veyed to Ithaca in one of his own ships. 

The voyage was a short and prosperous one, during 
which Odysseus lay in a deep sleep. When the vessel 
arrived in the harbor of Ithaca, the sailors, concluding 
that so unusually profound a slumber must be sent by 
the gods, conveyed him on shore without disturbing 
him, and left him with the treasure King Alcinous had 
bestowed upon him. 
17* 



198 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



It was now twenty years that Odysseus had been 
away from Ithaca, and when he awoke he did not 
recognize his native land. Pallas Athene appeared to 
him in the form of a shepherd, and informed him that 
he was in his native land, and told him the state of 
affairs at his palace. Many nobles of Ithaca and the 
neighboring islands had for years harassed Penelope 
with their solicitations to select another husband, as 
they believed Odysseus to be dead. In order to gain 
time, Penelope had promised to make a choice among 
them as soon as she had finished weaving a burial-robe 
for the aged Laertes ; but by secretly undoing at night 
what she had done in the day, she prevented the com- 
pletion of the work. One of her maids had betrayed 
her, and the suitors were now more clamorous than 
ever. 

At the suggestion of Athene, who accompanied him 
under the form of a man named Mentor, Telemachus 
had gone to the courts of the other kings who had re- 
turned from the Trojan expedition, hoping to gain 
tidings of his father. 

That Odysseus might be able to take vengeance on the 
suitors, Athene gave him the appearance of an old beg- 
gar, and as such he was kindly received by Eumae^us, 
the swineherd. It chanced that the following morning 
Telemachus returned from his fruitless search for his 
father. He went first to Eumseus to learn something 
of the state of affairs at the palace. 

Athene now urged Odysseus to make himself known 
to his son, at the same time she touched him and gave 
him the appearance of vigorous manhood, which be- 
longed to him. Telemachus viewed him with astonish- 
ment, and at first thought he must be more than 
mortal ; but Odysseus announced himself as his father, 
and explained that Athene had changed his appear- 
ance. 



THE RETURN OF THE GREEKS FROM TROT. 199 



" Then threw Telemachus 
His arms around his father's neck and wept." 

The father and son took counsel together, and it was 
arranged that Telemachus should proceed to the palace 
and mingle with the suitors as formerly ; that Odysseus 
should go as a beggar, and he charged his son not to 
display any unusual interest in him. As they entered 
the courtyard his faithful dog Argus, though feeble with 
age, recognized his master, and then expired at his feet. 

At the palace they found the usual scene of feasting 
and riot. The suitors pretended to receive Telemachus 
with joy. The old beggar was permitted to enter, and 
was provided with food from the table. As he sat eat- 
ing his portion, the suitors became insolent to him, but 
Penelope, hearing of their cruel conduct, was touched 
with compassion, and desired her maidens to bring the 
poor mendicant into her presence. She spoke kindly to 
him, inquiring his name and whence he came. He gave 
her a fictitious account of himself, but told her he had 
seen Odysseus, who would certainly arrive before the 
year was out. The queen, overjoyed at the glad tidings, 
ordered her maidens to treat the stranger as an honored 
guest. As Eiirycle^a, his old nurse, was bathing his feet, 
her eye fell on a scar which Odysseus had received in his 
youth, and instantly recognizing her beloved master, 
she would have cried aloud in her joy, but the hero 
implored her not to betray him. 

The next day Penelope brought into the hall the bow 
of Odysseus, which he had used in former times, and 
declared that she would marry the suitor who could bend 
this bow and send an arrow through twelve rings (a feat 
which she had seen Odysseus perform.) 

All the suitors tried their skill, but not one possessed 
the strength to bend the bow in order to attach the 
string. Odysseus asked permission to be allowed to try. 



200 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



The suitors mocked at his audacit}', but Telemachus in- 
terfered and bade him try. The pretended beggar took 
the bow, with ease adjusted the cord to its notch, then 
fitting an arrow to the bow he drew the string, and it 
sped through the rings. Turning to Antin oils, the 
most insolent of the suitors, he pierced him to the 
heart just as he was raising a goblet of wine to his lips. 

There 's many a slip 

'Twixt the cup and the lip." — Odyssey. 

The suitors, springing to their feet, looked around for 
arms, but, in obedience to Odysseus, Telemachus had 
removed them. He, with his father and Eumeeus, slew 
the suitors. 

The joyful intelligence of the return of Odysseus being 
conveyed to Penelope, she descended to the hall, but re- 
fused to recognize in the aged beggar her gallant hus- 
band. She determined to test his identity, and com- 
manded that his own bed should be brought from his 
chamber. This bed had been made by Odysseus himself 
from an ohve-tree, which was still rooted in the ground, 
and around it he had built the walls of the chamber. 
Knowing, therefore, that the bed could not be moved, 
he exclaimed that the errand was useless, for that no 
mortal man could stir it from its place. Then Penelope 
knew that it must be Odj^sseus who stood before her, 
and a most touching and affectionate greeting took place 
between the long-separated husband and wife. 

The next morning Odysseus went into the country to 
see his aged father Laertes. While he was absent, 
Eupi'thes, the father of one of the slain suitors, incited 
the people to avenge their death. They took up arms 
and followed the hero. A conflict ensued, in which 
Eupithes was slain by Laertes. Athene, under the form 
of Mentor, assisted Odysseus. Zeus thundered, and 



THE RETURN OF THE GREEKS FROM TROY. 201 

ended the conflict. Athene established peace between 
Odysseus and his subjects. 

''The legends of the return of tlie Greeks, especially 
of Odysseus, or Ulysses, and his companions, had their 
origin in phrases which described the general phenomena 
of daytime from the rising of the sun to its setting. 

''The Sun (Odysseus) leaves his bride, the Twilight 
(Penelope), in the sky when he sinks beneath the sea to 
journey in silence and darkness to the scene of the great 
conflict with the powers of darkness. 

" The ten weary years of the war are the hours of the 
night. In the tenth the fortress falls, as the dark shades 
are scattered at break of day. The victory is won, but 
the Sun still longs to see again the fair and beautiful bride 
from whom he was parted yester-eve. Dangers may 
await him, but he cannot arrest his steps. Do what 
he will, he cannot reach his home until another series of 
ten long years come to an end. The sun cannot see the 
twilight until another day is done." 

"'Land of the Lotus-eaters,' the fair fields of the 
deep blue heavens where the bright clouds float lazily, 
as if they would linger there forever." 

"In the legend of Polyphemus, Ulysses encounters 
the one-eyed monster, the child of the sea (Poseidon), 
and the storm-cloud (Thoosa). The shapeless vapors 
which arise from the waters, and through which, like 
a huge eye, the sun sheds a sickly light, assume strange 
and gigantic forms. 

" 'The Sirens,' the soft and treacherous calms which 
tempt the mariner to his ruin. 

" 'Cattle of HeUos,' the fleecy clouds. 

"'Cave of Calypso,' the bright and beautiful night 
which veils the sun from mortal eyes. 

" ' Phaeacian land,' the region of the bright clouds un- 
sullied by grosser vapors. 

"' The chief seizes his bow,' the hidden sun darts his 



202 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



ray through the cloud-rift, and scatters the heavy vapors 
which had gathered round the dawn-hght. 

" ' Penelope ' is the weaver^ but her web, though often 
begun, cannot be finished until Odysseus returns, be- 
cause the web of morning clouds reappears only at 
sundown. ' ' — Cox. 

j5]ne^as was the son of Aphrodite (Yenus) and An- 
■ehises, and was one of the most valiant of the Trojans. 
On the night of the destruction of Troy, ^neas, with 
his father, wife, and young son As€a^nius or lu^lus, 
escaped from the scene of destruction. As Anchises 
was too old to walk, ^neas carried him upon his shoul- 
ders. In the confusion, his wife was lost. They sought 
refuge on Mount Ida, where with other fugitives they 
remained until the following summer. During this time 
they constructed a fleet, in which such of the Trojans 
who were willing to go in search of new settlements, 
embarked under the command of ^neas. 

They first landed on the neighboring shores of Thrace, 
and were preparing to build a city, ^neas plucked 
some twigs from a myrtle ; to his dismay, the wounded 
part dropped blood, and a voic& cried out, "Spare me, 
^neas. I am your kinsman Polydo're, here murdered 
with many arrows, from which a bush has grown, nour- 
ished with my blood." ^neas recollected that Poly- 
dore was a young prince of Troy, whom Priam had sent 
to be brought up in Thrace, away from the horrors of 
war. The king to whom he was sent murdered him, and 
seized the treasures which had been sent with him. 
^neas and his companions hastened away, and next 
landed on the island of Delos. Here ^neas consulted 
the oracle of Apollo, and received the ambiguous answer, 
''Seek your ancient mother; there the race of ^neas 
shall dwell, and reduce all other nations to their sway." 



THE RETURN OF THE GREEKS FROM TROY. 203 

Anchises remembered a tradition that their forefathers 
came from Crete, to which place they accordingly steered. 
They began to build a city, but a pestilence broke out 
among them, and the fields that they had planted yielded 
no crops, ^neas was warned in a dream to leave the 
country and seek a western land called Hesperia, whence 
Dardanus, the true founder of the Trojan race, had 
originally migrated. 

The Trojans sailed without delay, but they were 
driven by a storm to the Stroph^ades, islands which 
were then the abode of the Harpies. They saw herds 
of cattle, some of which they slew, and prepared for a 
feast. But no sooner had they seated themselves at the 
table, than the Harpies came rushing upon them, and 
seized and defiled all the meats, ^neas and his com- 
panions drew their swords on them in vain, their feathers 
were impenetrable, (^^l^^^xio^ one of the Harpies, perch- 
ing on a lofty rock, foretold that, though they would 
reach Hesperia (Italy), they would not be able to found 
a city till famine should have forced them to eat the 
tables off which they fed. 

The adventurers next came to Epirus, and were re- 
joiced to learn that Herenus, one of the sons of Priam, 
was reigning in that country. He had married Androm^- 
a-€he, widow of Hector. Helenus and Andromache treated 
the exiles with the utmost hospitality, and when they 
departed loaded them with gifts. 

After a short voyage, they landed at the foot of Mount 
^tna, in Sicily, where the Cyclopes dwelt. Here, meet- 
ing one of the companions of Ulysses who had been left 
behind, and had since lived in constant dread of the 
Cyclopes, they took him on board and sailed round to 
the other side of the island. Here Anchises died. 

Seeing the Trojans speeding their way prosperously 
towards their destined shore, Hera (Juno) hastened to 
-^olus, the ruler of the winds, and by her directions he 



204 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



sent forth the winds, and a terrible storm scattered the 
fleet. Poseidon f^^eptune) stilled the tempest, and the 
Trojans sought the nearest shore, which was the coast 
of Africa, where Di'do was then building the city of 
Carthage. 

Dido received the illustrious exiles with friendliness 
and hospitality. "IN'ot unacquainted with distress," 
she said, ''I have learned to succor the unfortunate." 
Months rolled away in the enjoyment of pleasant inter- 
course, and it seemed as if Italy and the empire destined 
to be founded on its shores were forgotten. Zeus (Jupi- 
ter) sent Hermes (Mercury) to the hero, commanding 
him to embark without delay. 

^neas made the necessary preparations for departure, 
disregarding the tears and reproaches of the queen. 
When Dido found that the Trojans had really departed, 
she ascended a funeral pyre which she had previously 
had constructed, and slew herself with the sword ^neas 
had left behind him. 

^neas returned to Sicily, where he celebrated funeral 
games in honor of his father, who had been dead exactly 
a year. He left with Aces^tes, a Trojan prince wlio gov- 
erned a part of the island, the women, the aged men, 
and all that were likely to be useless in the wars which 
awaited him. 

The Trojans re-embarked, and at last landed at Cumse, 
in Italy. This was the abode of a famous Sibyl, whom 
Helenus had directed ^neas to consult. She foretold 
labors and perils through which he was destined to 
make his way to final success. Her closing words have 
become proverbial, "Yield not to disasters, but press on- 
ward the more bravely." 

Having been directed in a dream to seek the abode of 
the dead, that he might confer with his father Anchises, 
and receive from him a revelation of his future fortunes, 
he asked her assistance to enable him to accomplish the 



THE RETURN OF THE GREEKS FROM TROY, 205 



task. The Sibyl told him to seek in the adjoining forest 
for a tree on which grew a golden bough. This branch 
was to be borne as a gift to Proserpine. Aphrodite 
(Yenus) sent two of her doves to fly before him and 
show him the way, and by their assistance he found 
the tree, plucked the branch, and hastened back with 
it to the Sibyl. She conducted him to a cave near 
Lake Avernus, and here ^neas offered sacrifices to 
Proserpine, Hecate, and the Furies. The ground rocked, 
^neas and the Sibyl entered the dark descent, and pro- 
ceeded to the river Acheron, over which they were ferried 
by-Gharon. They encountered the dog Cerberus, but the 
Sibyl threw him a medicated cake, which he devoured, 
and then fell asleep. 

After seeing much that was wonderful, and passing 
through regions inhabited by diflerent classes of de- 
parted souls, they entered the plains of Elysium. Here, 
in a fragrant meadow, ^neas found the shade of An- 
chises, who showed him the souls which were destined 
to return to earth and become the future heroes of 
Rome. He told also of the events to be accomplished 
before the complete establishment of ^neas and his 
followers in Italy. Wars were to be waged, battles 
fought, a bride to be won, and a Trojan state founded, 
from which should rise the Eoman power to be in time 
the sovereign of the world. 

^neas and the Sibyl then took leave of Anchises and 
returned to the upper world. Having parted from the 
Sibyl and rejoined his fleet, ^neas coasted along the 
shore of Italy, and cast anchor in the mouth of the Tiber. 

Lati^nus, third in descent from Saturn, governed the 
country. He had a daughter named Lavinia, whose hand 
had been promised to Tur^nus, prince of the Eutu 'lians ; 
but Latinus was warned by an oracle that his destined 
son-in-law was to come from afar, and that his daughter's 
descendants were destined to subdue the world. 
18 



206 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



The Trojans landed, and while eating their first meal 
on shore, the prediction of the Harpy was fulfilled. 
Seated on the grass, the men placed their food on bis- 
cuits, and when all else was consumed, they ate them 
also. lulus cried out in sport, " See ; we are eating our 
tables ! " ^neas caught the words and accepted the 
omen. 

^neas sent an embassy to Latinus, requesting per- 
mission to settle in the country. The latter concluded 
that the Trojan prince was the son-in-law indicated by 
the oracle, and invited him to his palace. All now 
seemed to promise a peaceful settlement to the harassed 
Trojans ; but the enmity of Hera (Juno) was not yet ap- 
peased. She sent the Fury Alecto to the palace of Tur- 
nus, with orders to excite that prince against the stranger 
who was to rob him of his promised bride. Alecto then 
went to the camp of the Trojans, where she saw lulus 
and his companions hunting. She inspired the dogs with 
a sudden madness, and led them to rouse up from the 
thicket a tame stag belonging to Sirvia, the daughter of 
Tyrrhe'us, chief herdsman of King Latinus. 

A javelin from the hand of lulus wounded the animal, 
which at once ran homewards and died at the feet of its 
mistress. Tyrrheus, with his sons and other herdsmen, 
assaulted the hunting party. These were protected by 
their friends, and the herdsmen were finally driven back, 
with the loss of two of their number. 

A long war ensued. At length Turnus fell in a per- 
sonal combat with ^neas, who, having triumphed over 
his foe, obtained Lavinia as his bride. 

-^neas built a city called Lavinium. Here he gov- 
erned his Trojan and Italian subjects, who became one 
people under the name of Latins. The new kingdom 
was attacked by several of the neighboring princes, led 
by Mezentius, king of Etruria. j^^neas defeated the 
allies, but was killed in the moment of victory. 



RECAPITULA TION. 



207 



Recapitulation. 

Personifications. 

Uranus, or Coelum, personified the heavens. 

Gaea, or Terra, personified the earth, with its subter- 
ranean forces. 

Cyclopes personified the energies of the sky. 

Titans personified the forces that formed the earth in 
the early ages. 

Chronos, or Saturn, personified time. 

Ehea, or Ops, personified the productive power of the 
earth. 

Zeus, or Jupiter, personified the sky. 
Hera, or Juno, personified the heavenly air, or the 
atmosphere. 
Iris personified the rainbow. 

Aides, or Pluto, personified the unseen cause of phe- 
nomena that were antagonistic to light, life, and prog- 
ress. 

Demeter, or Ceres, personified the fertility of the earth 
in producing grain. 

Persephone, or Proserpine, personified the absence of 
vegetation from the surface of the earth during winter, 
and its reappearance in summer ; also the immortality of 
the soul. 

Poseidon, or Keptune, personified the forces which 
afiect the movements of the sea. 

Pallas Athene, or Minerva, personified mind working 
throughout the universe, carrying out the plans of Zeus. 

Ares, or Mars, personified the angry, clouded sky. 

Hebe personified the freshness of l!^ature. 

Phoebus Apollo personified the light of the sun in its 
illuminating, energizing power ; also intellectual light. 

Artemis, or Diana, personified the moonlight splendor 
of night. 



208 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



Aphrodite, or Yenus, personified the creative and 
generative forces of Nature. 

Eros, or Cupid, personified the principle of attrac- 
tion. 

Hermes, or Mercury, personified air in motion ; also 
t he rain, also practical wisdom. 

Dionysus, or Bacchus, personified wine and its efiects ; 
also the blessings of autumn. 

Charites, or Graces, personified grace and beauty. 

Horae, or Seasons, personified the regularity with 
which the changes of the seasons occur. 

^^emesis personified conscience. 

Erinnys, or Furies, personified the stings of conscience. 
Plutus personified the wealth derived from grain. 

Offices of the Deities. 

Chronos, or Saturn, presided over time and the sys- 
tematic movements of the heavenly bodies. 

Rhea, or Ops, presided over the development of 
material wealth. 

Helios, or Sol, presided over the light of the sun, and 
was believed to live in the sun. 

Selene, or Luna, presided over the moon. 

Hecate presided over the darkness and terrors of 
night ; also over magic. 

Zeus, or Jupiter, presided over all phenomena of the 
heavens, the alternation of day and night, and the 
change of the seasons. 

Hera, or Juno, presided over the atmosphere ; also 
over marriage. 

Aides, or Pluto, presided over the lower world, and 
assisted vegetation by the internal warmth of the earth. 

Demeter, or Ceres, presided over agriculture. 

Persephone, or Proserpine, presided over the life of 
the seed concealed in the earth. 



RECAPITULA TION. 



209 



Poseidon, or Keptune, presided over the sea in its 
relation to storms and earthquakes, in its relation to 
commerce, and as the source of vegetation on its shores. 

Hestia, or Yesta, presided over the hearth fires and 
altar fires. 

Pallas Athene, or Minerva, presided over wisdom, 
just war, temperate celestial heat, and over the moon. 

Ares, or Mars, presided over riidd ^nd fierce war. 

Phoebus Apollo presided over archery, prophecy, and 
music ; also over light from the sun and intellectual 
light. 

Artemis, or Diana, presided over the chase, and repre- 
sented the moonlight splendor of night. 

Hermes, or Mercury, presided over eloquence and 
commerce. He was messenger of the gods, and, as guide 
of souls to and from Hades, was called Psychopompus. 

Musse, or Muses, presided over music, song, poetry, 
and the fine arts. 

Charites, or Graces, presided over social enjoyments, 
and promoted temperance, gentleness, and good man- 
ners. 

The Kymphs preserved the freshness of I^ature, re- 
newed the freshness of the waters and of vegetation, and 
cared for the well-being of flocks and herds. 

Dionysus, or Bacchus, presided over the cultivation 
of the grape-vines. 

Hephaestus, or Yulcan, presided over fire, and com- 
pelled it to do service for man. 

Aphrodite, or Yenus, presided over love and beauty. 

Eros, or Cupid, presided over love. 

Heracles, or Hercules, presided over strength. 

Greek Festivals. 

Chronia, in honor of Chronos. 
Olympic Games, in honor of Zeus. 
18* O 



210 BAND-BOOK OF MTTBOLOGT. 



Daedala,};^ honor of Hem. 
Tonea, i 

Isthmian Games, in honor of Poseidon. 
Eleusinia, in honor of Demeter. 
Panathensea, in honor of Pallas Athene. 

Chalcea, | ^^^^^^ Hephsestus. 
Apaturia, ) 

Aphrodisia, in honor of Aphrodite. 
Charitesia, in honor of Charites. 
Pythian Games, 



Triopia, > in honor of Phoehus Apollo. 

Carneia, J 

Hermaea, in honor of Hermes. 

Greater Dionysia, ^ 

J"^^^^^ I in honor of Dionysus. 

Leneea, 

Anthesteria, J 

" Supper of Hecate " was held on the last day of each 
month. 

Roman" Festivals. 

Saturnalia, in honor of Saturn. 

Capitolini Ludi, in honor of Jupiter. 

Matronalia, in honor of Juno. 

Keptunalia, or Consualia, in honor of Keptune, 

Feralia, in honor of the dead. 

Cerealia, in honor of Ceres. 

Quinquatrus Majores, in honor of Minerva. 

Yulcanalia, in honor of Yulcan. 

Yeneralia, in honor of Yenus. 

Ludi Apollinares, ) ^^^^^ ^ 

" Seculares, J 
Festum Mercatorum, in honor of Mercury. 



Liberalia, 
Bacchana 
Brumatia, in honor of Bacchus. 



[ in honor of Bacchus or Liber Pater. 
Bacchanalia, J 



EGYPTtAif MtTSOLOGf, 



211 



Egyptian Mythology. 

Some of the Egyptian myths seem to have a more direct 
reference to facts of astronomy than do the myths in 
Greek mythology ; but there is no doubt that, like the 
Greek myths, those of the Egyptians had their founda- 
tion in phrases which described the sights and objects 
of the outer world. 

The Egyptian and the Greek systems of mythology 
grew up quite independently of each other. After Egypt 
had been thrown open to Greek commerce, the Greeks 
were so impressed with the grandeur of the country and 
the elaborate mysticism of the priesthood, that they not 
only identified their own deities with those of Egypt, 
but fancied that their names, as well as the actions as- 
cribed to them, were derived from Egypt. 

The mystical system of the Egyptian priests was 
grafted, in process of ages, on simpler myths, which cor- 
responded essentially to the phrases which lie at the root 
of Hindu, Greek, and Teutonic mythology. They be- 
lieved in one invisible, overruling, self-created God ; the 
immortality of the soul ; a judgment after death ; the 
final annihilation of the wicked, and the ultimate ab- 
sorption of the good into the eternal Deity. 

God created his own members, which are the gods^''^ 
they said ; and so out of one God grew a host of lesser 
ones, regarded by the priests as only his attributes and 
manifestations, but becoming to the people distinct and 
separate divinities. Natural objects and principles were 
thus deified — the soil, the sky, the east, the west, even 
the general idea of time and space. Each month and 
day had its own god. The Nile, as the source of the 
country's fertiUty, was especially revered, and the con- 
flict of God with sin was seen in the life-giving river,, 
and the barren, encroaching desert. 



212 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



The Sun, especially in later times, was the great expo- 
nent of Deity. His mysterious disappearance each night, 
and his return every morning to roll over the heavens 
with all the splendor of the preceding day, were events 
full of symbolic meaning. The rising sun was the beau- 
tiful young god Ho^rus ; in his mid-day glory he was Ra ; 
as he neared the western horizon he became Tum, and 
during the night he was Amun. Each of these gods, as 
well as the many others connected with the sun, had his 
own specific character. This complex sun-god was im- 
agined to float through the sky in a boat, accompanied 
by the souls of the Supremely Blest," and at night to 
pass into the regions of the dead. 

There were three orders of gods. The first was for 
the priesthood, and represented the ideal and spiritual 
part of the religion ; the second impersonated human 
faculties and powers ; and the third — the most popular 
of all among the people — was made up of forms and 
forces of Nature. 

Each town or city had its especially -honored triad of 
deities to whom its temples were dedicated. The triads 
often consisted of father, mother, and son ; but sometimes 
of two gods and a king. Osi'ris, who, with I^sis and 
Horus, formed the most celebrated of the triads, was 
worshiped throughout the land. So popular were these 
deities that it has been said, "With the exception of 
Amun and Keph, they comprise all Egyptian mythol- 
ogy." Osiris personified the sun as " Lord of all things ;" 
Isis, the moon, and Horus, the rising sun. 

In Thebes, Amun-Ra, the ''Concealed God," or 
"Absolute Spirit," headed the deities of the first order. 
He was represented as having the head of a ram ; the 
hieroglyphic of a ram also signifying concealment. 

In Memphis, Pthah, " Father of the Beginnings," the 
Creator, was chief ; his symbol was the Scarabseus, or bee- 
tle, an image of which was placed over the heart of every 



EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY, 



213 



mummy. Pthah was father of Ea, the sun-god. Ea 
was, in the mystic sense, that which is to-day, the exist- 
ing present ; the hawk was his emblem. 

Pasht, sister of Ea, and one of the personifications 
of the sun's strong rays, sometimes healthful, sometimes 
baneful, was both loved and feared. She was especially 
worshiped as Bubas^tis ; but her statues, having the 
head of a cat, are common all over Egypt. 

Neph, often confounded with Amun, and, like him, 
wearing the ram's head, was the Divine Breath or Spirit 
pervading matter ; sheep were sacred to him. 

Thoth, son of Keph, was god of intelligence ; the ibis 
was his emblem. 

Sa^te, the wife of Neph, and one of the forms of Isis, 
was the goddess of vigilance ; she was the eastern sky 
waiting for the morning sun. 

Author, goddess of love, was the beautiful western 
sky, wife of the evening sun, taking the wearied trav- 
eler to rest in her arms after each day's labor ; the cow 
was her emblem. 

Neith, wife of Pthah, was the goddess of wisdom ; 
she was the night sky which induces reflection. 

Maut, the Mother Goddess, was the cool night sky 
tenderly brooding over the hot, exhausted earth ; the 
shrew-mouse was sacred to her. 

Ty^phon was the common enemy of all the other 
gods ; his emblems were the pig, the ass, and the hippo- 
potamus. 

It was related that Osiris once went about the earth 
doing good, and that on his return he was slain by Seb 
(Typhon), his brother. A temple of surpassing magnifi- 
cence was erected in his honor at Philoe, which became 
ever after the great burial-place of the nation, and 
the spot to which pilgrimages were made from all parts 
of the country. 

The soul of Osiris was supposed to exist in some way 



214 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



in the sacred bull A^pis, of which Sera^pis is probably 
another name. Herod otus says, ''Apis is a young bull 
whose hair is black, on his forehead a white triangle, on 
his back an eagle, a beetle under his tongue, and the 
hair of his tail double." Ov^id says he is of various col- 
ors. Plutarch says he has a crescent on his right side. 
These superstitions varied from age to age. Apis was 
worshiped with the greatest reverence by the Egyp- 
tians. 

As soon as a bull with the marks above described was 
found by those in search of him, he was placed in a 
building facing the east, and was fed with milk for four 
months. At the expiration of this time the priests re- 
paired, at new moon, with great pomp, to his habitation, 
and saluted him ''Apis." He was placed in a vessel 
magnificently decorated, and conveyed down the Mle to 
Memphis, where a temple with two chapels, and a court 
for exercise, were assigned to him. Sacrifices were made 
to him, and once every year, about the time when the 
Nile began to rise, a golden cup was thrown into the 
river, and a grand festival was held to celebrate his 
birthday. The people believed that during this festival 
the crocodiles became harmless. 

Apis was not allowed to live more than twenty-five 
years. If he lived to that age, the priests drowned him 
in the sacred cistern, and then buried him in the temple 
of Sera^pis. On the death of this bull, whether it oc- 
curred in the course of nature or by violence, the whole 
land was filled with sorrow and lamentations, which 
lasted until his successor was found. 

A new Apis was found as late as the reign of Ha^drian. 
A mummy of one of the Sacred Bulls may be seen in 
the Egyptian collection of the Historical Society of New 
York. 



EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



215 



Oracle of Apis. 

At Memphis, the sacred bull Apis gave answers to 
those who consulted him by the manner in which he re- 
ceived or rejected what was presented to him. If the 
bull refused food from the inquirer, it was considered an 
unfavorable sign, and the contrary when he received it. 

The calf Mne vis, at Heliopolis, and the white cow of 
Author, at Ath'ribis, were also reverenced as incarna- 
tions of Deity. Other animals were considered as only 
emblems. Of these, the hawk, ibis, ape, cat,^ and asp 
were everywhere worshiped ; but crocodiles, dogs, jack- 
als, frogs, beetles, and shrew-mice, as well as certain 
plants and vegetables, were venerated in different sec- 
tions of the country. Those sacred in one place were 
often, in others, hated and hunted, or used for food. 

Thus, at Thebes, the crocodile and the sheep were 
worshiped, while the goat was eaten ; at Men^des the 
sheep was eaten and the goat worshiped ; at Apolli- 
nopolis the crocodile was so abhorred as an emblem of 
the evil spirit, that a special day was set apart to hunt 
and kill as many crocodiles as possible. The dead bodies 
were thrown before the temple of their own god. 

The crocodile was principally worshiped about Lake 
Moeris. A chosen number of these animals were kept 
in the temples, where they were given elegant apartments, 
and treated to every luxury, at the public expense. Im- 
agine a crocodile fresh from a warm, sumptuous bath, 
anointed with the most precious ointments and perfumed 
with fragrant odors, its head and neck glittering with 



* When a cat died in any private dwelling, the inmates shaved 
their eyebrows; when a dog died, they shaved their entire bodies. 
The killing of a cat, even accidentally, was considered a capital 
offence. All sacred animals were embalmed, and buried with im- 
pressive ceremonies. 



216 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



jewels, wallowing on a rich and costly carpet, to receive 
the worship of intelligent human beings ! 

Its death was mourned as a public calamity ; its body, 
wrapped in linen, was carried to the embalmers, attended 
by a train of people weeping and beating their breasts 
in grief ; then, having been expensively embalmed and 
bandaged in gayly-colored mummy-cloths, amid imposing 
ceremonies, it was laid away in its rock sepulchre. 

The most celebrated Egyptian book is the "Book of 
the Manifestations to Light," often called the "Book 
of the Dead." It is a ritual for the use of the soul in 
its journeys after death, and a copy more or less com- 
plete, according to the fortune of the deceased, was en- 
closed in the mummy-case. 

The soul was described as making long and perilous 
journeys in the under-world. Instructions were given 
by which it could vanquish the frightful monsters that 
constantly assailed it before reaching the first gate of 
heaven. That passed, it entered upon a series of trans- 
formations, becoming successively a hawk, lotus-flower, 
heron, crane, serpent, and crocodile, all being symbols 
of Deity. Meanwhile it retained a mysterious connec- 
tion with its mummied body, and was at liberty to come 
and go from the grave, during the day-time, in any form 
it chose. At last the body, carefully preserved from 
decay, joined the soul in its travels, and they went on 
together to new dangers and ordeals. The most dreaded 
of all encounters was the trial in the "Great Hall of 
Justice," before Osiris and his forty-two assessors, where 
the heart was weighed in the infallible scales of Truth, 
and its fate irrevocably fixed. The accepted soul was 
identified with Osiris, and set out on a series of ecstatic 
journeys in the boat of the Sun, the final glory being a 
bhssful and eternal rest. The rejected soul was sent 
back to the earth in the form of a pig, or some other 
unclean animal, to suffer degradation and torture. 



ASSYRIAN MYTHOLOGY, 



217 



Assyrian Mythology. 

The names of the Assyrian deities were at first mere 
epithets of the sun, but came in course of time to denote 
different gods. Thus the sun was worshiped as Bel, or 
Ba^al, the Lord, and as Moloeh, or the King, these 
names being gradually set apart for separate deities, just 
as Endymion, Hyperion, Apollo, Perseus, all originally 
mere names of Helios (the sun), became at length names 
of different persons. 

The sun was chiefly worshiped as Baal, in Babylon. 
His worship was also introduced by A^hab into Is^rael. 

The Phoenicians were widely known for their devotion 
to Moloch. They appeased him with the blood of in- 
fants, especially of the first-born. Carthage was noted 
for these horrid sacrifices ; five hundred children, it is 
said, were placed at once in the fiery jaws of the idol 
when the Sicilian, Agath^ocles, was about to attack the 
city. 

The worship of Moloch was practised by the Jews with 
great persistency until the time of the Babylonish cap- 
tivity. 

In Assyria, As^shur was the supreme object of wor- 
ship. He was the guardian deity of king and country. 
He was vaguely considered as the fount or origin of De- 
ity, but he was too dimly comprehended to be popular. 

Bel was also a favorite god, but Nm and Ner^gal, the 
winged bull and lion, that presided over war and hunt- 
ing, were more devotedly worshiped. The race of kings 
was, according to tradition, derived from Nin, and his 
name was given to Nineveh. 

Below the ''Great Gods " there were innumerable in- 
ferior ones, each town and city having its own local dei- 
ties, which elsewhere received little respect. Good and 
evil spirits were represented as perpetually warring with 
19 



218 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



each other. Pestilence, fever, and all the ills of life 
were personified, and man was like a bewilderea trav- 
eler struggling through a strange land, exposed to the 
malice of a host of unseen foes, whom he could subdue 
only by charms and exorcisms. 

The Assyrians apparently had no set religious festi- 
vals. When a feast was to be held in honor of any god, 
the king made special proclamation. During a fast, not 
only king, nobles, and people abstained from food and 
drink, clothed themselves in sackcloth, and sprinkled 
ashes on their heads, but all the animals within the city 
walls were made to join in the penitential observances. 
(See Jonah iii. 5-9.) 

The stone, clay, and metal images which adorned the 
temple shrines of Assyria and Babylonia were wor- 
shiped as real gods. So identified was a deity with its 
idol, that, in the inscriptions of kings, where the great 
gods were invoked in turn, the images of the same deity 
placed in different temples were often separately ad- 
dressed, as Ish^tar of Babylon, Ishtar of Arbela, Ishtar 
of Kineveh, etc. In worship, living sacrifices and offer- 
ings were made and oblations poured, the king taking 
the chief position instead of the priest, as in Egypt. 

Persian Mythology. 

''Our knowledge of the religion of the ancient Persians 
is principally derived from the Zend Avesta, or sacred 
books of that people. Zo'roaster was the founder of 
their religion, or rather the reformer of the religion 
which preceded him. His system became the dominant 
religion of Western Asia from the time of Cyrus (550 
B. c.) to the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great. 

'' Zoroaster taught the existence of a Supreme Being, 



PERSIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



219 



who created two other mighty beings, and imparted to 
them so much of his own nature as seemed proper to 
him. Of these Or^muzd (Greek Oroma'zes) remained 
faithful to his creator, and was regarded as the source 
of all good, while Ah riman (Ahrima nes) rebelled, and 
became the author of all evil upon earth. Ormuzd cre- 
ated man, and supplied him with all the materials of 
happiness ; but Ahriman marred this happiness by in- 
troducing evil into the world, and creating savage beasts 
and poisonous reptiles and plants. In consequence of 
this, evil and good are now mingled together in every 
part of the world, and the followers of good and evil— 
the adherents of Ormuzd and Ahriman — carry on inces- 
sant war. But the time will come when the followers 
of Ormuzd shall everywhere be victorious, and Ahriman 
and his adherents be consigned to eternal darkness. 

''The religious rites of the ancient Persians were very 
simple. They used neither temples, altars, nor statues, 
and performed their sacrifices on the tops of mountains. 
They adored fire, light, and the sun, as emblems of Or- 
muzd, the source of all light and purity, but did not 
regard them as independent deities. The rites and cere- 
monies were regulated by the priests, who were called 
Ma^gi. The learning of the Magi was connected with 
astrology and enchantment, in which they were so cele- 
brated that their name was applied to all orders of ma- 
gicians and enchanters. 

"The religion of Zoroaster continued to flourish even 
after the introduction of Christianity, and in the third 
century was the dominant faith of the East till the rise 
of the Mahometan power and the conquest of Persia by 
the Arabs in the seventh century, who compelled the 
greater part of the Persians to renounce their ancient 
faith. Those who refused to abandon the religion of 
their ancestors fled to the deserts of Kerman and to 
Hindustan, where they still exist under the name of 



220 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



Par^sees, a name derived from Pars, the ancient name 
of Persia. At Bombay, the Parsees are at this day a 
very active, intelligent, and wealthy class. They are 
noted for their purity of life, honesty, and conciliatory 
manners. They have numerous temples to Fire, which 
they adore as the symbol of the divinity. 

The Persian religion is the subject of the finest tale 
in Moore's Lalla Eookh, the Tire Worshipers.'" — 
Biilfinch. 

Hindu Mythology. 

The Hindus, as well as the Persians, were Aryans. 
In all respects, except color, they resemble the Europe- 
ans. It is probable that they emigrated from Fran 
(Persia) earlier than 1500 b. c. By mixing with the 
dark races which inhabited the country, the fair-skinned 
invaders lost the Aryan progressiveness and energy. 

Castes were established by the early Arj^ans. I. 
The Brah^mins, or priests, who had the right of in- 
terpreting the sacred books, and possessed a monopoly 
of knowledge. II. The Kshatriyas, or soldiers. III. 
The Vaisya, or traders and farmers. IV. The Su^- 
dras, or laborers, who consisted of the conquered peo- 
ple, and were slaves. 

The literature of the Sanskrit is rich in fancy and ex- 
alted poetry, and embalms the remains of that language 
which was nearest the speech of our Aryan forefathers. 
A portion of the Ye^das, the sacred books of Brahma, 
was compiled 1200 b. c. The Eig-Yeda contains ten 
hundred and twenty -eight hymns, invoking: as gods the 
sun, moon, and other powers of nature. 

The Yedic, or earliest Hindu mythology, is especially 
valuable as furnishing a key to that of the Persians, 
Greeks, Latins, Romans, and other races. The names 



HINDU MYTHOLOGY. 



221 



by which the Greeks denoted different gods and heroes 
are in the Yedas mere epithets, the meaning of which 
cannot be mistaken ; and the most complicated legends 
can be traced to their germ in some phrase which, in 
these most ancient of all poems, simply described some 
incident or phenomenon in the course of the outward 
world." — Cox, 

In the Yeda, Arjii^ni, Brisa^ya, Daha'na, U^shas, 
Sara'ma, and SarS,n^yu are names for the morning light. 

The Greeks regarded them as separate beings, whom 
they knew as Argyn^nis, Brise^is, Daph^ne, E^os, Helen, 
and Erinnys. In the same way the Yedas spoke of the 
Pa^nis as tempting Sarama to be unfaithful ; with the 
Greeks this phrase grew into the stealing of Helen by 
Paris, and the legend of the Trojan war. 

The chief deities mentioned in the ancient hymns are 
Yaru^na, Ag^ni, and In^dra. 

By Varuna was meant the broad heaven which is 
spread over and veils the earth. Many of the hymns 
addressed to Yaruna are addressed to him simply as a 
name for the One God who has made and who governs 
all things. 

Yaruna is found in Greek mythology as Uranus, but 
in Greece Zeus (the Sanskrit Dylans) became the name 
for the supreme God, and Uranus lost his importance. 

Agni was a name for the fire which, when the fuel is 
kindled, steps forth like a war-horse from his prison, 
leaving a dark path (of smoke) behind him. The name 
Agni is found in the Latin word ignis^ fire. 

Indra was god of the clear heaven, and so of light, 
warmth, and fertilizing rain, so named from a root de- 
noting moisture^ and thus corresponds to the Jupiter 
Pluvius of the Latins. 

Indra is chiefly represented as doing battle with Yri^- 
tra, the enemy, who, by shutting up the rain, brings 
drought upon the earth. 
19* 



222 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



Vritra is clescfibed as a great dragon smitten by the 
lance of Indra, as Py^thon is pierced by that of Apollo* 
As such he is called Ahi'^ which is the same as the 
Greek Echid'na^ and the Latin wol-d anguis^ a snake* 
In Greek mythology, Yritra corresponds to the Sphinx 
in the story of (Ediptis^ as well as to many monstei*g 
slain by other heroes. 

Ya^ma was the Hindu god of the dead. As from the 
east came all life, so in the west lay the land of the 
dead, the Elysian fields, and thither the sun hastens as 
he sinks down from the heights of heaven. Thus, " Ya- 
ma is said to have crossed the rapid waters, to have 
shown the way to many, to have first known the path 
on which our fathers crossed over." 

In the Yedic hymns, the Harits are the bright horses 
of the sun ; in the West, they became beautiful women, 
called by the Greeks, -Gharites, by the Latins, Gratise, or 
Graces (from a root, Ghar, to shine), 

Trita and Traitana were names given to the god of 
the clear heaven. They reappear in the Greek Triton 
and Tritogeni'a. 

The Maruts were the storm-winds, whose name (from 
mar, to grind) reappears in the Greek Ares, the Latin 
Mars, and Mors, death^ and in the Teutonic Thor, the 
crusher, 

Ushas was a name for the dawn, and corresponds to 
the Greek Eos, and the Latin Aurora. 

Arusha was a name for the sun as he begins his 
course in the heaven. He is represented as a beautiful 
child. He is identical with the Greek Eros, or god of 
love, and the Latin Cupid. Arusha was said to awaken 
the earth with his rays. 

Brahma is called a son of Brahm, a name for the Great 
First Cause of all things. Brahma, Yish^nu, and Si^va 
compose the later Trimurti, or Trinity ; Brahma being 
the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Siva the destroyer. 



HmDti MTTffOLOGY. 



m 



Biva is frequently called Mahadeva, or Mahade'o (in 
Greek, Me 'gas The 'os), the great god, and is regarded as 
a reproducer ; to destroy, according to Indian philoso- 
phy, being only to reproduce under another form. 

The Ava^tars of Vishnu are incarnations of the god 
for the accomplishment of a special purpose. It is 
believed the number of the Avatars will not exceed ten, 
Kalki is the name of the tenth Avatar, in which Vishnu 
will appear at the end of the present age of the world to 
destroy all vice and wickedness, and to restore mankind 
to virtue and purity. 

Krish^na was a being produced, according to some 
legends, from one of the hairs of Vishnu, and Krishna 
produced Eud'ra, the destroyer, the father of the tem- 
pest-gods. 

Savitar is a name for the sun, as golden-handed, re- 
ferring to his rays. When the name Avas taken literally, 
the story grew up that the sun, offering up a sacrifice, 
cut off his hand, which was replaced by a golden one. 

Manu is a wise lawgiver, and the son of Brahma. 
He is the same as the Greek Minos, and the name is de- 
rived from the same root with the words, mmcZand man; 
man being so called as the measurer, or thinker. 

The worshipers of Vishnu and Siva form two sects, 
each of which proclaims the superiority of its favorite 
deity, denying the claims of the other. Brahma, the 
creator, having finished his work, seems to be regarded 
as no longer active, and has now only one temple in In- 
dia, while Mahadeva, or Siva, and Vishnu, have many. 
The worshipers of Vishnu are generally distinguished 
by a greater tenderness for life, and consequent absti- 
nence from animal food, and a worship less cruel than 
that of the followers of Siva. 

The Hindus believe that if a man lead a pure life, his 
soul will pass, after death, into another human body ; but 
that if he has been wicked, it will enter into the body of 



224 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



some unclean animal. They think the soul will transmi- 
grate many times before being finally united to Brahma. 

Authorities diflfer as to whether the worshipers of 
Jug'gernaut are to be reckoned among the followers of 
Yishnu or Siva. The temple stands near the shore, 
about three hundred miles south-west of Calcutta. The 
idol is a carved block of wood with a hideotis face, 
painted black, and a distended, blood-red mouth. On 
festival days, the throne of the image is placed on a 
tower sixty feet high, moving on wheels. Six long 
chains are attached to the tower, by which the people 
draw it along. The priests and their attendants stand 
round the throne on the tower, and occasionally turn to 
the worshipers with songs and gestures. Formerly, 
while the tower moved along, numbers of the devout 
worshipers threw themselves on the ground in order to be 
crushed by the wheels, and the multitude shouted in ap- 
probation of the act, as a pleasing sacrifice to the idol. 
The British government prohibited this sacrifice about 
ten years ago. Every year, particularly at two great 
festivals in March and July, pilgrims flock in crowds to 
the temple. Not less than seventy or eighty thousand 
people are said to visit the place on these occasions, when 
all castes eat together. 

Bud^dha, whom the Yedas represent as a delusive in- 
carnation of Yishnu, is said by his followers to have 
been a mortal sage named Guatama, and also Buddha, 
the Wise. It is probable he lived about a thousand years 
before Christ. He was the son of a king, and was distin- 
guished for his wisdom, virtue, and personal beauty. 
He was so disgusted with the wickedness of men, that he 
retired into a desert place, where he spent six years 
in prayer and meditation. He then began his career as 
a religious teacher. His doctrines were received with so 
much favor that he lived to see them spread over all 
India. Buddha died at the age of eighty. 



SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY, 



225 



Buddhism was tolerated by the Brahmins for several 
centuries, and it extended to Ceylon and the eastern 
peninsula. Afterwards, a long-continued persecution in 
India had the effect of entirely abolishing it in the coun- 
try in which it had originated, and of spreading it in the 
adjacent countries. Buddhism appears to have been in- 
troduced into China about the year 65 of our era. From 
China it subsequently extended to Corea, Japan, and 
Java. 

Scandinavian Mythology. 

Scandina^vian Mythology includes the ancient super- 
stitions of that portion of IS'orthern Europe now known 
as Sweden, ^^'orway, Denmark, and Iceland. 

The mythical systems of the tribes of ^^orthern Eu- 
rope, like those of the Greeks, had their germ in phrases 
which described the sights and sounds of the material 
world. The Scandinavian mythology has none of the 
grace and poetic beauty which characterizes the fables 
of Greece and Rome. The wild and rugged Korth made 
its own impress on the Scandinavian tribes, and their 
superstitions were gloomy and extravagant, with an ele- 
ment of savage grandeur and sublimity. 

These mythological records are contained in two col- 
lections called the Ed^das. The older is in poetry and 
dates back to the year 1056, the more modern, or prose 
Edda, is dated 1640 ; so that for a long time this mythol- 
ogy must have been transmitted by oral tradition only. 
The word Edda means ancestress, and it is so called be- 
cause it is considered the mother of Icelandic poetry. 
The Saigas were written in Denmark and the Scandina- 
vian peninsula. 

According to the Eddas, there was once no heaven 
above or earth beneath, but only a bottomless deep, and 

P 



226 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



a world of mist in which tiowed a fountain. Twelve 
rivers issued from this fountain, and when they had 
flowed far from their source they froze into ice, and one 
layer accumulating over another, the great deep was 
filled up. 

Southward from the world of mist was the world of 
light. From this flowed a warm wind and melted the 
ice. The vapors rose in the air and formed clouds, 
from which sprung Y^mir, the Frost giant, and his prog- 
eny, and the cow Audhumbla, whose milk afforded food 
to the giant. The cow obtained nourishment by licking 
the hoar-frost and salt from the ice. While she was one 
day licking the salt stones, there appeared the hair of a 
man ; on the second day the whole head, and on the 
third the entire form, endowed with beauty and power. 
This hew being was a god, from whom and his wife, a 
daughter of the giant race, sprung the three brothers 
O^din, Vi^li, and Ve. They slew the giant Ymir, and 
out of his body formed the earth— his blood became the 
seas ; his bones, the mountains ; his hair, the trees ; his 
skull, the heavens ; his brain, the clouds charged with 
hail and snow. 

Odin next regulated the days and seasons by placing 
the sun and moon in the heavens and appointing them 
their respective courses. When the sun shed its rays 
upon the earth, the plants and trees began to bud and 
sprout. The three gods walked by the side of the sea, 
admiring their new creation, but seeing that it was un- 
inhabited, they resolved to create man. Ask^e and 
Em^bla, the first man and woman, were then formed, the 
man of an ash-tree and the woman of an alder. They 
were the parents of the human race. 

As^gard was the abode of the gods. It could be 
entered only by crossing the bridge Bi^frost (the rain- 
bow). It contained gold and silver palaces, the dwell- 
ings of the gods ; but the most famous and beautiful of 



SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY, 



227 



these was ValhaFla, the residence of Odin. When 
seated on his throne, he overlooked all heaven and earth. 
Upon his shoulders were the ravens Hu^gin (Mind) and 
Mun^in (Memory), who flew every day over the whole 
world and reported all they had seen and heard. At 
his feet lay two wolves, Geri and Fre'ki, to whom Odin 
gave all the meat that was set before him, for he him- 
self stood in no need of food. Mead was for him both 
food and drink. 

Kone were admitted to Valhalla but heroes who had 
fallen in battle. Women, children, and all who had 
died a peaceful death were excluded. The joys of Val- 
halla consisted in eating, drinking, and fighting. They 
feasted on the flesh of the boar Schrimnir, which was 
cooked every day, and became whole again every night. 
The goat Heid^run supplied them with never-failing 
draughts of mead, which they drank from the skulls of 
their slaughtered enemies. For pastime, they fought and 
cut one another in pieces. When the hour for feasting 
came, they recovered from their wounds, and were 
whole as before. 

Odin's name was sometimes written Wo 'den, and from 
this was derived the name of the fourth day of the week, 
Wednesday. The wife of Odin was Frig^ga, whose name 
remains in our Friday. She presided over marriage. 

Thor* was Odin's eldest son, and was god of thunder. 
His mighty strength depended upon three things— his 
hammer, his belt of strength, and his iron gloves. The 
hammer when thrown returned to his hand of its own 
accord. When he girded the belt around him, his 
strength was doubled. Whenever he put on his iron 
gloves, he could use his hammer efliciently. From Thor's 
name was derived our name Thursday. 

Lo^ki was a malevolent deit}'- described as the great 



* Longfellow^s " Tales of a Wayside Inn," 



228 



HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



serpent that encircles the earth, and as the father of 
Hela, the queen of the regions below the earth. 

Baldur was the most beautiful of all the dwellers in 
Valhalla ; but, although all the other gods had sworn not 
to hurt him, no oath had been taken from Loki, who 
destroyed him with the mistletoe. 

The Elves were beautiful spirits clothed in delicate 
garments. They loved the light and were kindly dis- 
posed towards mankind. The country of the Elves was 
called AlFheim, and was the domain of Freyr, the god 
of the sun, in whose light they were always sporting. 

The Night Elves, also called Grnomes, and sometimes 
Brown^ies, were at times exceedingly malicious. They 
were ugly dwarfs of a dark-brown complexion, and were 
never seen except at night, because the sun's rays had 
the power to change them into stones. They dwelt in 
mountain caverns and the clefts of rocks. Many stories 
were told of their malicious pranks. 

Heim^dall was the watchman of the gods, and was 
stationed to guard the bridge Bifrost, as the gods con- 
tinually feared that the giants might force their way 
over the shining arch and invade Yalhalla. 

Heimdall required less sleep than a bird ; his sight was 
so keen that he could distinguish the smallest object for 
a thousand leagues around, even in the darkest night. 
As related in the Eddas, ''His hearing was so quick 
that he could hear the wool growing on the sheep's 
backs and the grain sprouting in the fields ! " 

The Valky^ries were warlike virgins, whom Odin sent 
to every battle-field to make choice of those who should 
be slain. When they rode forth mounted upon war 
steeds and in full armor, their shields and helmets shed 
a strange flickering light, which flashed up over the 
northern skies. This light was called by men the Aurora 
Borea^lis. 

Ragnarok^, or the Twilight of the Gods, was a phrase 



SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY, 



229 



used to denote the time when all the visible creation, the 
gods of Yalhalla, the inhabitants of earth, men, giants, 
and elves, will be destroyed. The Eddas give a wild 
description of the last battle-field on which the prowess 
of good and evil shall contend, and on which all are 
doomed to perish. When all are slain, the world will be 
wrapped in flames, the sun will become dim, the stars 
will fall from heaven, and time shall be no more. 

After this universal destruction a new heaven and a 
new earth will rise out of the abyss. This new earth 
will produce its fruits without labor or care, perpetual 
spring will reign, and sin and misery will be unknown. 

The constant struggle of life and death is described in 
the tale of the Yolsung, which was afterwards remodeled 
in the great epic poem called the "^iTibelun ^gen-Lied," 
or '*Lay of the Children of the Mist." Si^gurd, the 
son of Sig^mund, the son of Yolsung, a descendant of 
Odin, is the hero of this story. 

He was born after the death of his father, and became 
the foster-child of Regin (the smith of the king of Den- 
mark), who urged him on to slay the dragon Fafnir, who 
lay coiled on the glistening heath. 

Sigurd became possessed of the treasure which lay 
within his mighty folds, and by eating his heart he also 
gained a wisdom beyond that of mortal men. Going on 
his way he came to a heath, in the midst of which a 
fierce flame surrounded a house in which the fair 
maiden, Brynhild, lay asleep. Sigurd rode through the 
fire, and at his touch she awoke. They then plighted 
their troth, and Sigurd rode on to the house of Giuki, 
the Ni^flung, who determined that he should marry his 
daughter Gudrun, and that Brynhild should become the 
wife of his son Gunnar. But Gunnar could not ride 
through the flame, and by magic arts Sigurd was made 
to assume the form and voice of Gunnar, and to hand over 
Brynhild to him. Discovering the treachery, Brynhild 
20 



230 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



urged Gunnar to slay Sigurd, but he and his brothers had 
sworn not to mjure the hero. They therefore induced 
Guttorm to slay Sigurd during his sleep. His death re- 
awakened all the love of Brynhild, who died heart-broken 
on his funeral pile. 

The Nl^flungs or Ni^belungs are the dwellers in 
Nifl^heim, the land or home of the cold mists. 

The Eddas and Sagas have come to us from Iceland. 
The following is from Carlyle's ^'•Heroes and Hero Wor- 
ship,'^'' "In that strange island Iceland, — burst up, the 
geologists say, by fire from the bottom of the sea, a wild 
land of barrenness and lava, swallowed many months 
of every year in black tempests, yet with a wild gleam- 
ing beauty in summer time, towering up there stern and 
grim in the North Ocean, with its snow yokuls (moun- 
tains), roaring geysers, sulphur pools, and horrid vol- 
canic chasms, like the waste, chaotic battle-field of 
Frost and Fire, — where, of all places, we least looked 
for literature or written memorials, — the record of these 
things was written down. On the seaboard of this wild 
land is a rim of grassy country where cattle can subsist, 
and men by means of them and of what the sea yields ; 
and it seems they were poetic men these, men who had 
deep thoughts in them and uttered musically their 
thoughts. Much would be lost had Iceland not been 
burst up from the sea, not been discovered by the North- 
men ! " 

The DRuaDS. 

The Drii^ids were the priests or ministers of religion 
among the ancient Celtic nations in Gaul, Britain, and 
Germany. 

The word Druid is supposed to have been derived from 
"De," God, and "rouyd," speaking. It would, there- 
fore, seem to signify those who speak of or for God. 



THE DRUIDS. 



231 



The Druids taught the existence of one God, to whom 
they gave a name, ^'Be'al," which is beheved to have 
meant, "the hfe of everything," or "the source of all 
beings." This name probably had affinity with the 
Phoenician Baal. The Druids as well as the Phoenicians 
identified this, their supreme deity, with the Sun. 

The principal characteristics of Druidism were,— the 
belief in one Supreme Being, in the immortality of 
the soul, and a future state of rewards and punish- 
ments. 

The Druids were priests of the highest order, who re- 
mained secluded in caves and grottos, or in the depths 
of oak forests, where they were supposed to study the 
deeper mysteries of nature and religion, and to consult 
more directly the secret will of the divinity. They were 
also the teachers of youth. Their teaching was oral. 
The Koman writers admit that "they paid much attention 
to the order and laws of nature, and investigated and 
taught to the youth under their charge many things 
concerning the stars and their motions, the size of the 
world and the lands, and concerning the might and 
power of the immortal gods." 

The Bards were an essential part of the Druidical 
hierarchy. Pennant says, "The bards were supposed 
to be endowed with powers equal to inspiration. They 
were the oral historians of all past transactions, public 
and private. They were also accomplished genealogists. " 
The same author gives a minute account of the Eistedd- 
fode, or sessions of the bards and minstrels, which were 
held in Wales for many centuries, long after the Druid- 
ical priesthood in its other departments became extinct. 
At these meetings none but bards of merit were permit- 
ted to rehearse their pieces, and minstrels of skill to 
perform. Judges were appointed to decide upon their 
respective abilities, and suitable degrees were conferred. 
In the earlier period judges were appointed by the Welsh 



232 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



princes, and, after the conquest of Wales, by commission 
from the kings of England. 

The Druids used no images to represent the object of 
their worship, nor did they meet in temples or buildings 
of any kind for the performance of their sacred rites. 
A circle of stones, each of vast size, enclosing an area 
of from twenty feet to thirty yards in diameter, consti- 
tuted their sacred place. The most celebrated of these, 
now remaining, is Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain, 
England. 

These sacred circles were generally situated near some 
stream, or under the shadow of a grove or wide-spread- 
ing oak. In the centre of the circle stood the Cromlech, 
or altar, which was a large stone placed as a table upon 
other stones set up on end. 

The Cairns were large stones or piles of stones on the 
summits of hills. They were used in the worship of the 
deity under the symbol of the sun. 

There can be no doubt that the Druids offered sacri- 
fices to their deity, but there is some uncertainty as to 
what they offered, and nothing is known of the ceremo- 
nies connected with their religious services. The Roman 
writers assert that on great occasions they offered human 
sacrifices. Caesar gives an account of the manner in 
which this was done. " They have images of immense 
size, the limbs of which are framed with twisted twigs 
and filled with living persons. These being set on fire, 
those within are encompassed by the flames." 

The Druids observed two festivals in each year. The 
Baltane, or "fire of God," took place in the beginning 
of May. On this occasion a large fire was kindled on 
some elevated spot, in honor of the sun, whose returning 
beneficence they thus welcomed after the gloom and 
desolation of winter. 

The other great festival of the Druids was called 
''Samh'in," or the "fire of peace," and was held on 



THE DRUIDS. 



233 



Hallow-eve (last of October). On this occasion the 
Druids assembled in the most central part of the district 
to discharge the judicial functions of their order. All 
questions, whether public or private, all crimes against 
persons or property, were at this time brought before 
them for adjudication. With these judicial acts were 
combined certain superstitious usages, especially the 
kindling of the sacred fire, from which the fires in the 
district— which had all been extinguished — might be 
relighted. This custom of kindling fires on Hallow-eve 
lingered in the British Isles long after the establishment 
of Christianity. 

The Druids were in the habit of observing the full 
moon, and also the sixth day of the moon. On the latter 
they sought the mistletoe, which grew on their favorite 
tree, the oak. The discovery of it was an occasion of 
rejoicing and solemn worship. Pliny says, ''They call 
it by a word in their language which means ' heal-all, ' 
and having made solemn preparation for feasting and 
sacrifice under the tree, they drive thither two milk- 
white bulls, whose horns are then for the first time 
bound. The priest, robed in white, ascends the tree, 
and cuts off" the mistletoe with a golden sickle. It is 
caught in a white mantle, after which they proceed to 
slay the victims, at the same time praying that God will 
render his gift prosperous to those to whom He has given 
it. They drink the water in which it has been infused, 
and think it a remedy for all diseases. The mistletoe is 
a parasitic plant, and is not always found on the oak, so 
that when it is found, it is the more precious." 

Amber was valued for certain mysterious properties. 
It was manufactured into beads by the Druids, and given 
as charms to warriors going to battle ; such beads are 
sometimes found in their tombs. 

Druidism was suppressed in Graul by the Roman con- 
querors, who built temples and introduced the worship 
20^ 



234 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



of their own gods. Druidism found a temporary refuge 
in the German forests and in Armorica. It was sup- 
pressed in Britain during the reign of [N'ero. The per- 
secuted Druids took refuge in the island of Mona or 
Anglesea, whence they were driven by the Eoman troops 
with great slaughter. They found a last asylum in the 
island of lona, where they maintained an influence until 
the latter part of the sixth century, when the inhabit- 
ants of the island were converted by the preaching of 
St. Columba, a native of Ireland, where Christianity had 
been established for nearly a century. 

American Mythology. 

Personification lies at the foundation of all myths. 
Many expressions which seem grossly materialistic were 
intended to convey to the mind the self-renewing power 
of life in nature, which is exemplified in the sowing of 
the seed and the development of the fruits, the winter 
and the summer, the dry and the rainy seasons, and 
especially the sunset and sunrise. 

At the time of the discovery of America, the area east 
of the Mississippi Kiver and south of Hudson Bay was 
peopled by the Algonquins and the Iroquois. They 
differed in temperament and language, but their religious 
ideas were not dissimilar. 

Light is the most important of all things, and, realizing 
this, the primitive savage made Light his chief god. The 
light appears in the east and disappears in the west. 
These two cardinal points are represented as twins— the 
one sending forth the sun, the other lying in wait to 
conquer it ; but, though the sun is apparently conquered 
each night, it rises with undiminished glory in the morn- 
ing. As we see and learn by sight and light, it was 
natural to attribute to the light-god the progress in the 



AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY, 



235 



arts. Light came to be personified as the embodiment 
of wisdom. The fair complexion always given to these 
gods has reference to the white light of the dawn. Their 
long hair and flowing beard are the rays of the sun. 
Their loose and large robes typify the enfolding of the 
firmament by the light and the winds. 

"The mythic lore of the American Indians is com- 
paratively scanty and prosaic, as befits the product of a 
lower grade of culture and a more meagre intellect. Not 
only are the personages less characteristically portrayed, 
but there is a continual tendency to extravagance, the 
sure index of an inferior imagination." — Fiske, 

The Myth of Michabo. 

"The beginning of things, according to the northern 
Algonquins, was at a period when boundless waters 
covered the face of the earth. On this infinite ocean 
floated a raft, upon which were many species of animals, 
the captain and chief of whom was Michabo, the Great 
Hare. They ardently desired land on which to live ; so 
this mighty hare ordered the beaver to dive and bring 
him up ever so little a piece of mud. The beaver obeyed, 
and remained down long, even so that he came up utterly 
exhausted, but reported that he had not reached bottom. 
Then the hare sent down the otter, but he also returned 
nearly dead, and without success. Great was the dis- 
appointment of the company on the raft, for what better 
divers had they than the beaver and the otter ? 

" In the midst of their distress, the female muskrat 
came forward and announced her willingness to make 
the attempt. Her proposal was received with derision ; 
but as poor help is better than none in an emergency, 
the hare gave her permission, and down she dived. She, 
too, remained long — a whole day and night — and they 
gave her up for lost. But at length she floated to the 
surface, unconscious, as if dead. They hastily hauled 



236 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



her on the raft, and examined her paws one by one. In 
the last one of the four they found a small speck of mud ! 
that was all that was needed. The muskrat was soon 
restored ; and Michabo, the Great Hare, exerting his 
creative power, moulded the little fragment of soil ; and 
as he moulded it, it grew into an island, into a mountain, 
into a country, finally into this great earth that we dwell 
upon. As it grew, Michabo walked round it, to see how 
big it was, and the story added that he is not yet satis- 
fied, and he continues his journey and labor, walking 
forever around the earth, and ever increasing it more 
and more. 

" The animals on the raft soon found homes on the 
new earth. Michabo, the Great Hare, formed the trees 
by shooting his arrows into the soil ; they became tree 
trunks, and he then transfixed them with other arrows, 
which became branches. It was said that he married 
the muskrat that had been of such service to him, and 
they were the ancestors of the various races of mankind 
which people the earth. 

Having closely watched the spider spreading her 
web to catch flies, he invented the art of making nets for 
fish, and taught it to his descendants. He was believed 
to confer fortune in the chase, and therefore the hunt- 
ers invoked him, and oflered to him tobacco and other 
dainties, placing them in the clefts of the rocks. Though 
called the Great Hare, he was always referred to as a 
man, the mighty father or elder brother of the race." — 
Perrot. 

Sometimes Michabo was said to dwell in the skies with 
his brother, the Snow, or, like many great spirits, to 
have built his wigwam in the far north, on some floe of 
ice in the Arctic Ocean. In the oldest accounts he was 
alleged to reside towards the east. 

Michabo was a personification of the solar life-giving 
power which daily comes forth from its home in the east. 



AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 



237 



making the earth rejoice. The name Michabo is com- 
pounded of "mic/ii," great, and ^'wabos^'^'' which means 
both "hare" and "white." So that Michabo is the 
Great White One, the god of the Dawn and the East. 

"The word for muskrat in Algonquin is 'ico/as/ifc,' 
and this is almost the word for mud, or wet earth, 
^ajishkV The one word was probably substituted for 
the other. The original statement was, that from wet 
mud, dried by the sunlight, the solid earth was formed ; 
and again, that this damp soil was warmed and fertilized 
by the sunlight, so that from it sprung organic life, even 
man himself, who, in so many mythologies, is the ' earth- 
born.' 

"After the darkness of the night, man first learns his 
whereabouts by the light kindling in the Orient. Wan- 
dering through pathless forests, the east became to 
primitive man the most important of the fixed points 
in space ; by it were located the west, the north, the 
south ; from it spread the welcome dawn ; in it was born 
the glorious sun ; hence it became to him the home of 
the gods of life, light, and wisdom."— JBrin^on. 

In the Algonquin legends, four brothers were prominent 
characters. They were personifications of the cardinal 
points. Their names were Wahun^ the East ; Kahun^ the 
West ; Kahibonokka^ the North, and Shawano^ the South. 
Wabun was the chief and leader, and assigned to his 
brothers their various duties, especially to blow the winds. 
The Indians told Captain Argoll : "We have five gods 
in all ; our chief god often appears to us in the form of a 
mighty great hare ; the other four have no visible shape, 
but are indeed the four winds, which keep the four cor- 
ners of the earth." We thus see that Wabun, the East, 
was distinguished from Michabo, the eastern light, and 
the original number was increased to five. 

" The morning star, which at certain seasons heralds 
the dawn, was sacred to Michabo ; its name is Waba- 



238 HAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, 



naag, from Waban, the East. The rays of light are his 
messengers and servants. Seated at the extreme east, 
' at the place where the earth is cut off,' watching in his 
medicine-lodge, or passing his time fishing in the endless 
ocean, which, on every side, surrounds the land, Michabo 
sends forth his messengers, who, in the myth, are called 
Gijigouai^ which means 'those who make the day,' and 
they light the world. He is never identified with the 
sun, nor was he supposed to dwell in it, but he is dis- 
tinctly the impersonation of light. 

"Michabo was at times the god of light, at others, of 
the winds ; and as these are the rain-bringers, he was 
also at times spoken of as the god of waters. He was 
said to have scooped out the basins of the lakes, and to 
have built the cataracts in the rivers, so that there should 
be fish preserves and beaver dams." — Schoolcraft, 

''As teacher and instructor, it was he who pointed out 
to the ancestors of the Indians the roots and plants which 
are fit for food, and which are of value as medicine ; he 
gave them fire, and recommended them never to allow it 
to become wholly extinguished in their villages ; the 
sacred rites of the religion were defined and taught by 
him ; the maize was his gift, and the pleasant art of 
smoking was his invention." — Tanner, 

Michabo is said to sleep through the winter months ; 
and at the time of the falling leaves, by way of com- 
posing himself for his nap, he fills his great pipe and 
divinely smokes ; the blue clouds gently floating over the 
landscape, fill the air with the haze of Indian summer. 

The Myth of Ioskeha. 

The most ancient myth of the Iroquois represents this 
earth as covered with water, in which dwelt aquatic 
animals. The heavens were far above, peopled by super- 
natural beings. One of these, a woman named Ataensic, 



AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY 



239 



threw herself through a rift in the sky, and fell towards 
the earth. There a turtle offered her his broad back as 
a resting-place, until, from a little mud which was 
brought to her by some animal, she, by magic power, 
formed dry land on which to reside. 

In this tradition appear twin brothers, sons of a virgin, 
who was the daughter of Ataensic. The names of the 
brothers were loskeha and Tawiskara, which signified 
the White One and the Dark One. loskeha went about 
the earth, which was arid, and called forth the springs 
and lakes, and formed the brooks and rivers. But 
Tawiskara created an immense frog, which swallowed all 
the water, and left the earth as dry as before. A par- 
tridge informed loskeha of this, and he set out for his 
brother's country, for they had divided the earth be- 
tween them. He soon came to the gigantic frog, which 
he pierced in the side, and the waters flowed out. A 
terrible contest between the brothers ensued, and Ta- 
wiskara was driven from the earth and forced to reside in 
the far west, where he became ruler of the spirits of the 
dead. The victorious loskeha returned to his grand- 
mother, and ''established his lodge in the far east, on 
the borders of the great ocean, whence the sun comes. 
In time he became the father of mankind, and special 
guardian of the Iroquois." He caused the earth to bring 
forth, stocked the woods with game, and taught his 
children the use of fire. 

"In the Oneida dialect of the Iroquois, loskeha means 
literally ' it is about to grow white,' that is, to become 
light, to dawn. Ataensic is from the root aouen^ water, 
and means literally ' she who is in the water. ' Plainly 
expressed, the sense of the story is that the sun rises 
daily out of the boundless waters which are supposed to 
surround the land, preceded by the dawn (the virgin 
mother), which fades as soon as the sun has risen." — 
Brinton, 



240 BAND-BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY. 



"Neither the redskin nor the Indo-European had any 
choice as to the main features of the career of his solar 
divinity. He must be born of the IN'ight, or of the Dawn, 
must travel westward, must slay harassing demons. 
Here the resemblance between the Aryan and barbaric 
legends is at an end. But little reflection is needed to 
assure us that the imagination of the barbarian, who 
either carries away his wife by brute force, or buys her 
from her relatives as he would buy a cow, could never 
have originated legends in which maidens are lovingly 
solicited, or in which their favor is won by the perform- 
ance of deeds of valor. These stories owe their existence 
to the romantic turn of mind which has always charac- 
terized the Aryan, whose civilization, even in the times 
before the dispersion of his race, was sufficiently advanced 
to allow of his entertaining such comparatively exalted 
conceptions of the relations between men and women." 



A. 

Absyettjs, 176. 
Acestes, 204. 
Achelous, 161. 
Acheron, 56, 195, 205. 
Achilles, 27, 80, 111, 137, 148, 

180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 

186, 189, 195. 
Acrisius, 127, 145, 148. 
Acropolis, 114, 122, 126. 
Actseon, 97. 
Admete, 156. 

Admetus, 93, 94, 95, 168, 173. 

Adonis, 82. 

Adrastus, 142, 143. 

-^acus, 42. 

iEetes, 174, 175, 176. 

Mgsdy 50. 

^geus, 163, 164, 165, 177. 

^gina, 42. 

^gis, 79. 

^gisthus, 62, 189. 

^neas, 80, 177, 202, 203, 204, 

205, 206. 
^olus, 121, 192, 193, 203. 
-S^schylus, 134. 
iEsculapius, 93, 137, 173, 186. 
21 



^son, 171. 
^ther, 18, 22. 
iEthra, 163, 164. 
Agamemnon, 62, 80, 97, 181, 183 

184, 189, 195. 
Aganippides, 108. 
Agathocles, 217. 
Agave, 103, 139. 
Agenor, 41, 137, 138. 
Aglaia, 84. 
Agni, 221. 
Ahab, 217. 
Ahi, 222. 
Ahriman, 219. 
Ahrimanes, 219. 
Aides, 31, 37, 53, 54, 55, 61, 91 

93, 146, 167, 194, 207, 208. 
Ajax, 183, 185, 186, 190. 
Alcestis, 93, 94. 
Alcinous, 79, 197. 
Alcmseon, 142, 143, 144. 
Alcmena, 39, 151. 
Alecto, 60. 
Alexander, 178, 218. 
Alfheim, 228. 
Algonquins, 234, 237. 
Alpheus, 155. 
Althea, 168, 169. 
Q 241 



242 



INDEX. 



Amalthea, 36, 161. 
Amazons, 150, 166. 
Amor, 85, 86. 

Amphiaraus, 142, 143, 173. 
Amphion, 40. 
Amphitrite, 51, 53. 
Amphitryon, 152. 
Amun, 212, 213. 
Amun-Ea, 212. 

Anchises, 177, 202, 203, 204, 205. 

Androgens, 165. 

Andromache, 203. 

Andromeda, 147, 148. 

Anouka, 76. 

Antaeus, 158. 

Anteros, 81, 86. 

Anthesteria, 210. 

Antigone, 141, 142, 143. 

Antilochus, 185. 

Antinous, 200. 

Antiope, 39, 40, 166, 167. 

Anubis, 98. 

Apaturia, 210. 

Aphareus, 40. 

Aphrodisia, 82, 210. 

Aphrodite, 21, 39, 48, 71, 80, 81, 
82, 84, 86, 111, 115, 125, 169, 
177, 178, 183, 202, 205, 208, 
209, 210. 

Apis, 214, 215. 

Apollinares Ludi, 95, 210. 

Apollo, 12, 16, 19, 39, 52, 59, 62, 
84, 88, 90, 91, 94, 95, 96, 97, 
99, 100, 101, 106, 108, 126, 127, 
131, 148, 154, 157, 165, 183, 185, 
188, 202, 207, 209, 210, 217, 
222. 

Apollonius, 38* 

Arachne, 75. 

Areas, 43. 

Areopagus, 62, 71. 



Ares, 39, 47, 69, 70, 71, 72, 81, 
86, 127, 172, 175, 207, 209,222. 
Arete, 197. 
Arges, 19. 
Argives, 144. 

Argo, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176. 
Argonauts, 172, 173, 174, 175, 

176, 177. 
Argus, 42, 43, 199. 
Argynnis, 221. 
Ariadne, 105, 166, 167. 
Arion, 51, 143. 
Aristseus, 91, 92. 
Arjuni, 221. 
Arsinoe, 144. 

Artemis, 19, 30, 39, 43, 95, 96, 
97, 98, 111, 126, 127, 154, 156, 
168, 181, 182, 183, 207, 209. , 

Arusha, 222. 

Aryan, 239. 

Ascalaphus, 65. 

Ascanius, 202. 

Asclepius. See ^sculapius. 

Asgard, 226. 

Ashtoreth, 81. 

Aske, 226. 

Asphodel, 56. 

Assaracus, 177. 

Asshur, 217. 

Astarte, 81. 

Asteria, 19, 20, 30. 

Astrseus, 20, 26, 121. 

Ataensic, 238. 

Atalanta, 168, 169. 

Ate, 178. 

Athamas, 139, 172. 

Athene, 11, 12, 39, 48, 51, 52, 62, 
69, 72, 73, 74, 75, 114, 115, 126, 
127, 133, 145, 146, 148, 155, 162, 
166, 170, 172, 178, 183, 187, 190, 
198, 200, 201, 207, 209, 213. 



INDEX. 



243 



Athenaea, 74. 
Athor, 81, 213, 215. 
Atlas, 99, 146, 159, 196. 
Atropos, 59, 60. 
Atys, 35. 
Audhumbla, 226. 
Augeas, 155, 161. 
Augustus, 95. 
Aurora. See Eos. 
Aurora Borealis, 228. 
Autonoe, 139. 
Avatars, 223. 
Avernus, 56. 

B. 

Baal, 23, 217, 231. 
Bacchanalia, 105, 210. 
Bacchus. See Dionysus. 
Baldur, 228. 
Baltane, 232. 
Battus, 100. 
Baucis, 44. 
Bel, 23, 217. 

Bellerophon, 148, 149, 150, 151. 

Bellerus, 149. 

Bellona, 72. 

Belvedere, 95. 

Benthesicyme, 51. 

Beroe, 103. 

Bifrost, 226, 228. 

Bistonians, 156. 

Boreas, 26, 121, 123, 173. 

Bosphorus, 42. 

Brahma, 220, 222, 224. 

Brahmins, 220, 225. 

Briareus, 19, 52. 

Brisaya, 221. 

Briseis, 221. 

Brontes, 19. 

Brownies, 228. 

Brumatia, 105, 210. 



Brynhild, 229. 
Bubastis, 95, 213. 
Buddha, 224. 
Buddhism, 225. 
Busiris, 157. 

c. 

Cadmus, 137, 138, 139, 172, 174. 

Caduceus, 100, 102. 

Cairns, 232. ^ 

Calais, 173. 

Calchas, 180, 181, 187. 

Calciope, 172. 

Calliope, 91, 106, 108. 

Callirrhoe, 144. 

Callisto, 43. 

Calypso, 196, 197, 201. 

Camense, 108. 

Campus Martins, 55, 71, 80. 
Capaneus, 143. 
Capitolini Ludi, 39, 210. 
Carneia, 210. 

Cassandra, 92, 178, 179, 188. 
Cassiopea, 147. 
Castalides, 108. 
Castor, 40, 173. 
Cecrops, 51, 127, 128. 
Celseno, 203. 
Celeus, 66. 

Centaurs, 136, 137, 154, 155. 
Centiraani, 19. 
Cepheus, 147. 
Ceralia, 67, 210. 
Ceramicus, 104. 
Cerberus, 56, 159, 160, 205. 
Cercyon, 164. 
Ceres. See Demeter. 
Ceto, 19, 121. 
Ceyx, 160. 
Chalcea, 210. 
Chaos, 18, 22, 85. 



244 



INDEX, 



Chariclo, 75. 
Charis, 84. 

Charites, 39, 81, 84, 85, 208, 209, 

210, 222. 
Charitesia, 85, 210. 
Charon, 56, 205. 
Charybdis, 196. 
Chelone, 46. 
Chimsera, 149, 151. 
Chiron, 93, 137, 154, 171. 
Chronia, 33, 209. 
Chronos, 18, 20, 21, 31, 32, 33, 

34, 36, 46, 50, 53, 61, 63, 76, 

137, 207, 208. 
Chrysaor, 146. 
Cilix, 138. 

Circe, 176, 193, 194, 195, 196. 
Cithaeron, 48. 
CHo, 106, 108. 
Clotho, 59. 
Clymene, 135. 

Clytemnestra, 40, 62, 181, 188. 

Clytie, 25. 

Cocytus, 22, 56, 195. 

Ccelum, 20, 21, 207. 

Cceus, 18, 19. 

Consualia, 52, 210. 

Consus, 52. 

Copreus, 153. 

Cora, 64, 68. 

Coronis, 92, 93. 

Corybantes, 34, 35. 

Cottus, 19. 

Creon, 140, 143, 153. 

Creusa, 177. 

Crius, 18, 20. 

Croesus, 131. 

Crommyon, 164. 

Cupid, 85, 86, 208, 209, 222. 

Curetes, 34, 36. 

Cybele, 34, 35, 36, 169. 



Cyclopes, 18, 19, 21, 32, 55, 79, 

93, 190, 192, 203, 207. 
Cycnus, 25. 
Cyparissus, 94. 
Cyrene, 92. 
Cyrus, 131, 218. 

D. 

D^DALA, 47, 48, 210. 
Daedalus, 165, 169, 170. 
Dahana, 221. 
Damastes, 164. 
Danae, 145, 147, 148. 
Danaides, 57, 58, 59. 
Daphne, 42, 89, 91. 
Dardanus, 203. 
De, 230. 

Deianeira, 161, 162. 
Delphi, 13. 

Demeter, 31, 39, 51, 63, 65, 67, 
68, 69, 129, 207, 208, 210. 

Demophoon, 66. 

Deucalion, 135, 136. 

Diana. See Artemis, 

Dictys, 145. 

Dido, 204. 

Dindymene, 35. 

Diomedes, 156, 186, 187. 

Dione, 39. 

Dionysia, 104, 210. 

Dionysus, 92, 102, 103, 104, 105, 
124, 127, 139, 166, 208, 209, 210. 

Dioscuri, 40, 41. 

Dirce, 40. 

Dis. See Aides. 

Dithyrambos, 106. 

Dodona, 38. 

Doris, 111, 120. 

Druidism, 233, 234. 

Druids, 230, 231, 233, 234. 

Dryades, 112. 



INDEX. 



245 



Dyaus, 11, 36, 221. 
Dyu, 31. 

E. 

Echidna, 222. 
Echo, 111. 

Eddas, 225, 228, 229, 230. 
Eisteddfode, 231. 
Egyptian, 211. 
Electra, 112, 121, 177. 
Eleusinian Mysteries, 66, 81, 159, 
210. 

Elgin Marbles, 72. 
Elves, 228. 

Elysian Plain, 14, 55, 139. 
Elysium, 57, 203. 
Emathion, 159. 
Embla, 226. 
Enchelians, 139. 
Endymion, 28, 29, 217. 
Enyo, 72. 

Eos, 20, 23, 26, 27, 121, 159, 184, 

185, 220, 222. 
Eosphorus, 26. 
Epaphus, 24, 42. 
Epeus, 187. 
Ephialtes, 51. 
Epigoni, 143. 
Epimetheus, 133. 
Epopeus, 40. 
Erato, 107, 109. 
Erebus, 18, 22, 55, 92. 
Erechtheus, 74. 
Eridanus, 25. 

Erinnys, 60, 61, 144, 208, 221. 
Eriphyle, 142, 143. 
Eris, 22, 47. 

Eros, 18, 81, 85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 

208, 209, 222. 
Erysichthon, 67. 
Eteocles, 141, 142, 143. 
21* 



Eumseus, 198, 200. 
Eumenides, 61, 141; 
Eunomia, 83. 
Euphrosyne, 84. 
Eupithes, 200. 
Europa, 41, 42, 137, 138. 
Eurus, 26, 121. 
Eurybia, 19. 
Euryclea, 199. 
Eurydice, 91, 92. 
Eurylochus, 193, 194. 
Eurynome, 39, 78, 84. 
Eurypylus, 187. 

Eurystheus, 151, 152, 153, 154, 

155, 156, 158, 159, 160. 
Eurytion, 137, 157. 
Eurytus, 160, 161, 162. 
Euterpe, 107, 109. 

F. 

Fafnir, 229. 
Faunus, 124. 
Felicitas, 116. 
Feralia, 210. 

Festum Mercatorum, 210. * 

Flora, 117. 

Fortuna, 116. 

Forum, 77. 

Freki, 227. 

Freyr, 228. 

Friday, 227. 

Frigga, 227. 

Furies, 57, 205. 

G. 

G^A, 18, 19, 21, 31, 32, 34, 37, 

47, 63, 74, 158, 207. 
Galatea, 111. 

Galaxy, or Milky Way, 152. 
Ganymedes, 113, 114, 117. 
Gauls, 39. 



246 



INDEX, 



Ge, 18. 
Genetrix, 83. 
Geri, 227. 
Geryon, 157, 158. 
Gigantes, 21, 37. 
Gijigouai, 238. 
Giuki, 229. 
Glaucopis, 74. 
Glaucus, 120, 149, 150. 
Gnomes, 228. 

Golden Fleece, 172, 176, 177. 
Gorgons, 19, 74, 121, 145, 146, 
148. 

Graces, 84, 208, 209. 
Gradivus, 71. 
Grsese, 19, 121, 146, 148. 
Gratise, 84, 222. 
Gudrun, 229. 
Gunnar, 229, 230. 
Gyges, 19. 

H. 

Hades, 41, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57. 
Hadrian, 214. 
Halirrhothius, 70. 
Hallow-eve, 233. 
Hamadryades, 112. 
Harmonia (Harmony), 71, 138, 
142. 

Harpies, 121, 173, 203, 206. 
Harpocrates, 86. 
Hebe, 16, 39, 47, 113, 162, 207. 
Hecate, 20, 29, 30, 174, 205, 208, 
210. 

Hecatoncheires, 18, 19, 21, 32. 
Hector, 178, 179, 182, 183, 184, 
203. 

Hecuba, 178, 188. 
Heidrun, 227. 
Heimdall, 228. 
Hela, 218. 



Helen, 40, 48, 167, 179, 180, 188, 

190, 221. 
Helenus, 186, 203, 204. 
Heliades, 25. 
Helicon, 75, 108. 
Helios, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 50, 65, 

88, 158, 201, 208, 217. 
Hellas, 13. 
Helk, 172, 177. 
Hemera, 18, 22. 

Hephaestus, 24, 39, 47, 74, 78, 79, 
80, 81, 133, 138, 155, 164, 174, 
183, 184, 209, 210. 

Hera, 31, 39, 42, 43, 46, 47, 48, 
69, 75, 78, 79, 84, 102, 112, 113, 
139, 140, 152, 153, 158, 162, 172, 

203, 206, 207, 208, 210. 
Heracles, 39, 47, 80, 86, 94, 113, 

127, 134, 137, 148, 151, 152, 153, 
154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 
163, 166, 173, 179, 182, 186, 187, 
209. 

Hercules. See Heracles. 

Hermsea, 101, 210. 

Hermes, 11, 39, 42, 43, 44, 46, 86, 
98, 99, 100, 101, 122, 133, 145, 
146, 147, 159, 172, 183, 194, 

204, 208, 209. 
Hermione, 71, 80, 81, 138, 139. 
Hersa, 28. 

Hesiod, 16, 18. 

Hesione, 157, 179. 

Hesperides, 22, 47, 121, 158, 159. 

Hestia, 31, 76, 77, 127, 209. 

Hindu, 211. 

Hippea, 76. 

Hippios, 52. 

Hippocrene, 110. 

Hippodamia, 137. 

Hippolyte, 156, 157, 166. 

Hippolytus, 166, 167. 



INDEX. 



Hippomedon, 143. 


Ismene, 141. 




Hippomenes, 169. 


Isthmian Games, 166, 


210. 


Homer, 16, 54. 


lulus, 202, 206. 




Horse, 16, 39, 81, 83, 84, 208. 


Ixion, 57, 58, 89. 




Horus, 23, 24, 88, 212. 


r 

«i ■ 




Hugin, 227. 




Hyacinthus, 94. 


Janus, 33, 116, 117. 




Hydra, 153. 


Japetus, 133. 




Hyllus, 161. 


Jasion, 67. 




Hymen, ) 


Jason, 137, 168, 172, 


174, 


Hymenaeus, J 


176, 177. 




Hyperboreans, 13. 


Jocasta, 140, 141, 142. 




Hyperion, 18, 20, 26, 28, 32, 217. 


Jove. See Zeus. 




Hypnos, 22, 23. 


Juggernaut, 224, 
Julius C«sar, 83. 




1. 


Juno. See Hera. 




lAPETUS, 18. 


Jupiter. See Zeus. 




Icarus, 169, 170. 


Jupiter Ammon, 45. 




Idsea Mater, 35, 


Jupiter Pluvius, 221. 




Idas, 167, 173. 


Juventas, 113. 




Iliad, 81, 89. 


t\. 




Ilion, 177. 




Ilithyia, 47. 


Kabibonokka, 237. 




Ilus, 177, 178, 


Kabun, 237. 




Inachus, 42. 


Krishna, 223. 




Indo-European, 237. 


Kshatriyas, 220. 




Indra, 42, 221, 222. 


r 




Ino, 103, 139, 172. 




lo, 24, 42, 43. 


Labyeinth, 170. 




lobabes, 149, 150. 


Lachesis, 59. 




lolaus, 153, 160. 


Laertes, 173, 195, 198, 


200. 


lole, 160, 161, 162, 163. 


Lsestrygonians, 193. 




loskeha, 238, 239. 


Laius, 140, 141. 




Iphicles, 151, 153. 


Lampetus, 27. 




Iphigenia, 97, 181, 182. 


Laocoon, 188. 




Iphitus, 160. 


Laomedon, 26, 52, 94 


157, 


Irene, 83. 


178. 




Iris, 112, 121, 207. 


Lapithse, 136, 137. 




Iroquois, 234, 239. 


Lares, 119, 120. 




Ishtar, 81, 218. 


Larvae, 119. 




Isis, 43, 212, 213. 


Latins, 206, . 





248 



INDEX. 



Latinus, 205, 206. 
Latmian, 27. 
Latona, 27, 39. 
Lavinia, 205. 
Learchus, 139. 
Leda, 40, 179. 
Lemures, 119. 
Lensea, 210. 
Lenseon, 104. 
Lethe, 56, 57. 

Leto, 19, 27, 39, 58, 88, 96, 97. 
Leucothea, 139, 197. 
Liber, 102, 105, 210. 
Liberalia, 105, 210. 
Libethrides, 108. 
Libitina, 82. 
Lichas, 162. 
Limniades, 112. 
Limoniades, 111. 
Linus, 151. 
Loki, 227, 228. 
Lotus-eaters, 190, 201. 
Ludi Apollinares, 210. 
Ludi Seculares, 210. 
Luna, 27, 208. 
Lupercus, 124. 
Lycaon, 43, 44. 
Lycomedes, 167, 181, 
Lycurgus, 97. 
Lycus, 39, 40. 
Lynceus, 168, 173. 
Lysicrates, 105. 

M, 

Machaon, 186. 
Magi, 209. 
Magna Mater, 35. 
Mahadeo, 223. 
Mahadeva, 223. 
Maia, 39, 99, 100, 101. 
Manes, 119. 



Manu, 223. 
Mars. See Ares. 
Marsyas, 94. 
Maruts, 222. 
Matronalia, 48, 210. 
Matutinus Pater, 117. 
Maut, 213. 
Mayors, 71. 
Mecone, 133. 

Medea, 165, 174, 175, 176, 177. 
Medusa, 109, 145, 146, 147, 148. 
Megsera, 60. 
Megara, 153, 160. 
Megas Theos, 223. 
Melanippus, 143. 
Meleager, 168, 169, 173. 
Meliades, 111. 
Meliae, 21. 

Melian Nymphs, 21. 
Melicertes, 139. 
Melissse, 37. 
Melpomene, 106, 108. 
Memnon, 27, 184, 185. 
Menelaus, 48, 179, 180, 183, 187, 
190. 

Mentor, 198, 200. 

Mercury. See Hermes. 

Merope, 140. 

Metis, 32, 39, 

Metra, 97. 

Mezentius, 206. 

Michabo, 235, 236, 237, 238. 

Midas, 94, 124. 

Minerva. See Athene. 

Minos, 41, 56, 79, 105, 156, 165, 

166, 170, 223. 
Minotaur, 165, 166. 
Minyans, 152. 
Mithras, 23. 

Mnemosyne, 18, 32, 39, 106. 
Mnevis, 215. 



INDEX. 



249 



Moerse, 22, 39, 59, 60, 168. 
Moloch, 23, 31, 217. 
Momus, 22, 115. 
Moneta, 48. 
Morpheus, 23. 
Mors, 222. 
Mulciber, 78, 80. 
Munin, 227. 

Muses, 16, 84, 106, 108, 110, 209. 
Muturnus, 125. 
Mylitta, 81. 
Myrmidons, 183. 

N. 

Naiades, 110, 111. 

Napsese, 111. 

Naroissus, 111. 

Nausicaa, 197. 

Neith, 72, 213. 

Nemean, 153. 

Nemesis, 22, 115, 208. 

Nemoralia, 98. 

Neoptolemus, 186. 

Neph, 212, 213. 

Nephalia, 62. 

Nephele, 172. 

Neptunalia, 51, 210. 

Neptune. See Poseidon. 

Nereides, 110, 111, 120, 147, 185. 

Nereus, 19, 50, 111, 120, 158. 

Nerio, 71. 

Nero, 71, 234. 

Nessus, 161, 162. 

Nestor, 185. 

Nibelungen-Lied, 229. 

Niaung, 229. 

Nike, 114. 

Nin, 217. 

Ningal, 217. 

Niobe, 97, 98. 

Noman, 192. 



Notus, 26, 121. 

Numa, 71. 

Nycteus, 39, 40. 

Nymphs, 110, 146, 147, 209. 

Nyx, 18, 22, 23, 59, 115. 

o. 

OCEANIDES, 19, 110, 137. 

Oceanus, 18, 19, 28, 32, 39, 43, 
46, 64, 110, 120, 146. 

Odin, 226, 227, 228. 

Odysseus, 148, 179, 186, 187, 190, 
191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 
197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202. 

(Edipus, 62, 140, 141, 142, 222. 

OEneus, 161, 168. 

(Enone, 178, 186. 

Olympic Games, 209. 

Olympus, 13, 32. 

Omphale, 160. 

Oneida, 239. 

Oneiros, 22. 

Ops, 34, 35, 206, 208. 

Orcus, 53, 55. 

Oreades, 111. 

Orestes, 62, 90, 97, 189. 

Ormuzd, 219. 

Oromazes, 219. 

Orpheus, 91, 92, 173. 

Orthia, 97. 

Orthrus, 139. 

Osiris, 23, 53, 102, 212, 213, 216. 
Ossa, 51. 
Othrys, 32. 
Otus, 51. 

P. 

Pal^mon, 139. 
Palamedes, 180, 183. 
Palatine, 119. 
Pales, 119. 



250 



INDEX. 



Palilia, 119. 

Palladium, 178, 187, 188. 

Pallas, 20, 165. 

Pallas- Athene, See Athene. 

Pan, 94, 122, 123, 124. 

Panathensea, 74, 134, 166, 210. 

Pandean, 123. 

Pandora, 133, 134. 

Panis, 221. 

Parcse, 22, 59. 

Paris, 48, 178, 179, 185, 186, 189. 
Parnassus, 108. 
Parsees, 220. 
Parthenon, 73. 
Parthenopaeus, 143. 
Parthenos, 73. 
Pasht, 213. 

Patroclus, 183, 184, 195. 
Pegasus, 109, 110, 146, 150. 
Pelasgian, 38. 
Peleus, 47, 168, 173, 180. 
Pelias, 93, 171, 176. 
Pelion, 51. 
Pelops, 58. 
Penates, 119. 

Penelope, 179, 180, 197, 198, 199, 

201, 202. 
Peneus, 90, 155. 
Penthesilea, 184. 
Pentheus, 103, 139. 
Pericles, 122. 
Periphetes, 164. 

Persephone, 30, 39, 55, 57, 61, 

65, 68, 69, 167, 205, 206, 208. 
Perses, 20, 29. 

Perseus, 109, 145, 147, 151, 217. 
Petasus, 101, 102. 
Phaeacians, 79, 197, 201. 
Phaedra, 167. 
Phaethon, 24, 25, 27. 
Phegeus, 144. 



Phidias, 38. 
Philemon, 44. 
Philoctetes, 162, 182, 186. 
Philyra, 137. 
Phineus, 147, 173, 174. 
Phlegethon, 57. 
Phlegyas, 57, 59. 
Phobus, 81. 
Phoebe, 18, 19. 

Phoebus Apollo. See Apollo. 
Phoenix, 138. 
Pholus, 154. 
Phorbas, 139. 
Phorcys, 19, 121. 
Phryxus, 172, 177. 
Phyleus, 161. 
Pierides, 108, 110. 
Pierus, 108. 

Pillars of Heracles, 157. 
Pindus, 108. 

Pirithous, 137, 159, 166, 167, 168, 
173. 

Pittheus, 163, 164. 

Pitys, 123. 

Platea, 48. 

Pleiades, 177, 185. 

Pluto. See Aides. 

Pluton, 53. 

Plutus, 67, 208. 

Pluvialis,'45. 

Pceas, 162, 173. 

Pollux, 40, 168, 173. 

Polydectes, 145, 147. 

Polydore, 202. 

Polydorus, 139. 

Polyides, 149. 

Polymnia, 107, 109. 

Polynices, 141, 142, 143, 144. 

Polyphemus, 51, 111, 190, 191, 

192, 201. 
Polyxena, 189. 



INDEX. 



251 



Pomona, 118. 
Ppntus, 19. 

Poseidon, 12, 31, 37, 49, 50, 51, 
52, 67, 70, 74, 94, 111, 120, 138, 
147, 150, 156, 157, 169, 183, 190, 
197, 201, 204, 206, 209, 210. 

Priam, 48, 92, 161, 178, 179, 180, 
182, 183, 184, 186, 187, 188, 
189,202, 203. 

Priapus, 125. 

Prithivi, 21. 

Procrustes, 164. 

Prcetus, 149. 

Prometheus, 43, 115, 128, 133, 

134, 135, 159. 
Proserpine. See Persephone. 
Protesilaus, 182. 
Proteus, 120. 
Prytaneum, 76. 
Psyche, 86, 87. 
Psychopompos, 95, 99. 
Pthah, 23, 78, 212, 213. 
Pyriphlegethon, 56. 
Pyrrha, 135, 136. 
Pythian, 90, 210. 
Python, 89, 90, 95, 222. 
Pythoness, 90. 

Q. 

QUINQUATKUS MAJORES, 75, 
210. 

R. 

Ra, 23, 212, 213. 

Ragnarok, 228. 

Regin, 228. 

Reshiph-Mical, 88. 

Rhadamanthus, 41, 57. 

Rhea, 18, 20, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 

36, 46, 50, 53, 63, 64, 76, 103, 

207, 208. 



Rhoda, 51. 
Rhodes, 24. 
Romulus, 71. 
Rudra, 223. 
Rutulians, 205. 

s. 

Sagaris, 35. 
Sagas, 225, 230. 
Sagittarius, 137. 
Salii, 71. 
Samhin, 232. 
Samothrace, 21. 
Sanskrit, 61. 
Sarama, 221. 
Sarameyas, 98. 
Saranyu, 221. 
Sarpedon, 41. 
Sarunya, 26, 61. 
Sate, 213. 
Sati, 46. 

Saturn. See Chronos. 
Saturnalia, 33, 210. 
Satyrs, 122, 125. 
Savitar, 223. 
Schiller, 64. 
Schiva, 102. 
Schliemann, 188. 
Schrimnir, 227. 
Sciron, 164. 
Scylla, 196. 
Seasons, 208. 
Seb, 31, 213. 

Selene, 20, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 

74, 98. 
Semele, 102, 103, 139. 
Semnse, 62. 
Sorapis, 53, 214. 
Shawano, 237. 
Sibyl, 204, 205. 
Sibylline, 36. 



252 



INDEX. 



Sigmund, 228. 
Sigurd, 230. 
Silenus, 103, 124. 
Silvanus, 118. 
Silvia, 206. 
Sinis, 164. 
Sinon, 187. 

Sirens, 109, 194, 195, 201. 
Sisyphus, 57, 58, 59. 
Siva, 11, 222, 223, 224. 
Sol. See Helios. 
Solymi, 149. 
Spartans, 86. 
Sparti, 138. 
Sphinx, 140, 141, 222. 
Stellio, 67. 
St. Elmo, 41. 
Steropes, 19. 
Sthenoboea, 149. 
Stonehenge, 232. 
Stymphalian, 155. 
Styx, 20, 56, 103, 180. 
Sudras, 220. 
Sulla, 38. 
Symplegades, 174. 
Syrinx, 123, 124. 

T, 

Talakia, 101, 102. 

Talos, 79. 

Tantalus, 57, 58. 

Tarquin, 38. 

Tartarus, 18, 21, 55, 57. 

Tawiskara, 238. 

Telamon, 161, 168, 173, 179. 

Telemachus, 180, 198, 199, 200. 

Telephassa, 41, 42, 138. 

Tellus. See Gaea. 

Terminalia, 118. 

Terminus, 118. 

Terpsichore, 107, 109. 



Terra. See Gsea. 
Tethys, 18, 19, 43, 46, 110, 120. 
Teutonic, 211. 
Thalia, 84, 107, 109. 
Thamyris, 108. 
Thanatos, 21, 23. 
Thasos, 138. 
Thaumas, 19, 112, 121. 
Thea, 18, 19, 26, 27. 
Themis, 18, 32, 39, 59, 83, 136. 
Thersander, 144. 
Theseus, 74, 105, 126, 148, 156, 
163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 173. 
Thestius, 153. 

Thetis, 47, 77, 180, 183, 185. 
Thoosa, 51, 201. 
Thor, 222, 227. 
Thoth, 98, 213. 
Thracians, 29. 
Thursday, 227. 
Tiphys, 173. 

Tiresias, 75, 141, 144, 194, 195, 

196. 
Tisiphone, 60. 
Titania, 21. 
Titanomachia, 32, 33. 
Titans, 18, 207. 
Tithonus, 26, 27, 159, 184. 
Tityus, 57, 58, 59. 
Tonea, 47, 210. 
Torlonia, 77. 
Traitana, 222. 
Triformis, 31. 
Trimurti, 222. 
Triopia, 210. 
Triptolemus, 66. 
Trita, 222. 
Tritogenia, 222. 
Triton, 51, 222. 
Troilus, 183. 
Tros, 114, 177. 



INDEX. 



253 



Troy, 177. 
Turn, 212. 
Turnus, 205, 206. 
Tycbe, 116. 
Tydeus, 143. 
Tyndareus, 40, 179. 
Typhoeus, 37. 
Typhon, 213. 
Tyrrhenians, 47, 105. 

u. 

Ulysses, 179, 180, 181, 183, 185, 

186, 187, 190, 201. 
Urania, 88, 107, 109. 
Uranus, 18, 20, 21, 31, 32, 34, 61, 

207, 221. 
Ursa Major, 43. 
Ursa Minor, 43. 
Ushas, 72, 221, 222. 

V. 

Vaisya, 220. 
Valhalla, 227, 228, 229. 
Valkyries, 228. 
Varuna, 20, 48, 221. 
Ve, 226. 
Vedas, 220, 224. 
Veneralia, 82, 210. 
Venus. See Aphrodite. 
Vertumnus, 118. 
Vesta. See Hestia. 
Vesta Giustiniani, 77. 
Vestalia, 77. 
Vestal Virgins, 77. 
Victoria, 114. 
Vili, 226. 
22 



Vishnu, 222, 223, 224. 
Volcanal, 80. 
Volcanus, 80. 
Volsung, 229. 
Vritra, 221, 222. 
Vulcan. See Hephaestus. 
Vulcanalia, 210. 
Vulcanus, 80. 

w. 

Waban, 238. 
Wabanang, 238. 
Wabun, 237. 
Wednesday, 227. 
Woden, 227. 

Y. 

Yama, 53, 222. 
Ymir, 226. 

z. 

Zend-Avesta, 218. 
Zephyrus, 26, 87, 121. 
Zetes, 173. 
Zethus, 40. 

Zeus, 11, 16, 20, 24, 25, 26, 28, 
31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 
42, 44, 45, 59, 60, 65, 67, 69, 77, 
80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 86, 88, 93, 96, 
99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 106, 107, 
110, 113, 114, 121, 127, 135, 
137, 139, 144, 145, 150, 151, 
158, 160, 162, 167, 172, 177, 
178, 179, 183, 185, 188, 191, 
192, 197, 200, 204, 206, 208, 
209, 210. 

Zoroaster, 218, 219. 



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